This week saw the release of The Beatles back catalogue, digitally remastered. On Amazon.co.uk the top ten selling CDs reverberate with The Beatles. Albums such as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road, Revolver, Help!, A Hard Day's Night, Rubber Soul. Such talent, energy, creativity and of course that famous Liverpool wit.
Some have said that the Beatles remastered a whole generation.
They led the music, cultural, fashion and often the political agenda.
Today I would like to highlight the role of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in raising the world consciousness towards "Imagining" a world with
all the people, living life in peace.
One of the lines in John's song
"Happy Christmas (War is Over)"
is "War is over, if you want it"
I find the lyrics empowering.
As this line ran through my mind I wrote the following piece.
It is based on a true story, where a group of local women felt empowered to act in a non violent manner, with a dramatic impact.
John Lennon in
Sandra kissed her baby William for the last time and with a grief stricken heart she handed him over to Army General Khartoum.
Over the next ten minutes this woeful scene was repeated some eleven times, as women from Mornei village handed their swaddled baby sons over to the waiting army personnel.
The women of Mornei were clearly distraught. Their sobbing filled the dry, dusty air and as if on cue the baby boys wailed a melancholic response.
It had been Sandra’s idea. Now she wasn’t so sure of its wisdom.
If the truth be known, she wasn’t really sure of anything anymore.
Life had been so straightforward back in
It had all sounded so exciting at the time and who wouldn’t be up for helping transform an African village?
The flush of excitement of being sent to Mornei village in
Now as she stood reflecting on exactly what she had just done, tears started trickling down her face.
Her firstborn William signalled his own discontent as he lay yelping in the arms of General Khartoum.
What had she done?
And it wasn’t just William who had been handed over into military care. No, she’d persuaded eleven other village mothers to do the same.
Sandra’s sobs involuntarily got louder. Soon she was wailing, along with the other mothers, making a distraught dozen.
Last week had been the tipping point for Sandra. News had reached Mornei that another three of its young soldiers had been killed in conflict. That brought the total to 27 in just over 6 months and there was just no sign that the fighting would stop.
The mothers in the village were outraged. They had poured years of their lives into raising handsome young sons only for them to be used as war fodder in the latest tribal conflict. But the women felt helpless to do anything about the situation. And just what was the point of their flesh and blood sacrifices? The fighting had continued sporadically over the last five years with no resolution in sight. Pointless. It was all so pointless.
In a moment of genius or maybe pure madness, Sandra announced that she had come up with a plan. The village mothers listened raptly as Sandra made her speech:-
“Just what is the point of us raising our sons, only to lose them at 16? This can’t go on. We must protest in the strongest possible way. I propose that all of us with baby sons hand them over to General Khartoum and his troops next Wednesday, just before their parade. After all, if the General’s going to train them from the age of 16, in preparation for their imminent slaughter, he might as well have them now.
In my view there’s no point us rearing them any more, Let the Army do it.
They’ll never have the time or the skills to look after them. Look I know this might sound crazy to you, but we might just make them think about the lives they’re destroying."
To Sandra’s great surprise the plan was passed with great enthusiasm.
So, seven days later amidst the sobbing and the wailing, General Khartoum and his men found themselves holding a dozen baby boys.
The men looked mighty uncomfortable with their newly acquired bawling bundles and looked as one towards the General for advice.
A look of horror slowly dawned over the General’s face as he began to realise the practical implications of this great baby handover. He could tell that the women meant business. Only thing was, nothing in his army training manual had prepared him for this eventuality.
Taking a sharp intake of breath, the General barked for Sandra to come towards him.
“Ok, you’ve made your point” he said. “However, I must inform you that I have had plans in place to end this conflict for a while now. So take your babies back and I’ll start peace negotiations”
Sandra smiled as the General thankfully placed William back into her arms. “Thank you” she said.
The General sighed and with a look of resignation he withdrew back to his tent, with as much dignity as he could muster.
The mothers’ cries of lament were instantly transformed into tears of joy. And as Sandra watched them eagerly retrieve their sons, John Lennon’s lyrics danced joyfully through her mind and spilled out onto her lips:-
‘War is over if you want it’.
transforming any situations of conflict in your life.
May you feel empowered to step out for peace
May your life be blessed with peace
May you truly know in your heart that
"War is over if you want it"
Take care
Tread peacefully
David
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