Imagine

Just watched a documentary on John Lennon and I found it quite eerie that in his last radio interview several hours before he was shot and killed near his home in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980, he mentioned the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, both great peace advocates, who were also shot to death. John was only 40 when his life was cut short by a deranged fan.
Lennon, acknowledged leader of the Beatles, who composed and sang “Imagine”, and one of this near-sighted Ibaloy writer’s all-time favorite songs, is himself a vocal campaigner for world peace. “All we are saying, is give peace a chance,” is a phrase John has often championed especially after the “Beatle-mania” in the 1960s (the decade when I was born) and he was mainly focused on being a dad to Sean and husband to Yoko Ono. Tragic, really.
What’s even more tragic is that in our very imperfect and ultra-unfair world, we have dictators and mass murderers like Pol Pot of Cambodia who died in their sleep in old age. We all know of powerful individuals in our beautiful archipelago of delicious coconuts and smiling carabaos who get away with corrupt, dishonest, and other nefarious deeds, yet, they are publicly praised, exalted, enjoy the good life, and many even live to a ripe old age. Maybe crime does pay? Just asking.
Forgive me, but I seem to have grown a wee bit judgmental and cynical in my ‘50s. Sincerest apologies from a sinner like me who doubts, at times, (tao lang po ako) if there really is a loving and just God who punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous. Maybe this only happens in the afterlife. If there is one, that is. Anyway, as Christmas beckons, may we truly have peace on earth and goodwill to all men (and women). Cheers!
May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ continue to bless and keep us all safe.