This commentary was written by Bob Stannard of Manchester, an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.
“We have the responsibility to stand for the truth, for what is right,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, adding that taxpayer dollars would not “be used to teach our kids to hate our country or to hate each other.” He added: “We also have to protect our people and our kids from some very pernicious ideologies that are trying to be forced upon them all across the country.”
• I’m sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, shortsighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just give me some truth
I’ve had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just give me some truth — John Lennon
Those of you who know me know that I have been a fan of a band once known as The Beatles. The first time I heard them was on the car radio when I was 12. At the age of 13, I saw them on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Prior to these four British guys showing up, my No. 1 idol was Sandy Nelson. I was a drummer at this time. The Beatles changed my course. It mattered not in the least what phase they went through. They really had a hold on me. The more radical they became, the more I liked them.
In March 1966, the world exploded when John Lennon said, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.”
When I hear some politicians today trying to twist and distort our history, I can’t help but recall Lennon’s words. We are currently living in an Orwellian world, in which Gov. Ron DeSantis quotes Dr. Martin Luther King while imposing laws that twist our history.
Recently, my bride and I stopped at the Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburg, Vermont. Have you been there? If not, you need to go. It is in this quaint little farm where our history lies, where the truth lies.
The Robinson family, who owned this farm for four generations, were a key part of the Underground Railroad, which was neither underground nor a railroad. It was a place where slaves who had escaped from the horror of their lives were allowed to stay and be treated with decency, dignity and respect. For some escapees, it was a stop on the way to Canada. Others stayed and worked and were paid for their labor.
It is our history that Gov. DeSantis, and others, fear the most. Our nation was built on the backs of slaves — men, women and children who were forcibly stolen from their homeland and sold at auction like cattle.
My young grandchildren have every right to know the sinful ways America was created. Politicians who want to bury the truth will never succeed. The truth has a nasty habit of always finding a way out of the box that arrogant leaders try to stuff it in.
You only need to look at people like Putin, Trump, and others who try to manipulate reality. Putin is on the verge of losing a fight that he started. Former President Trump appears to be headed for court and possibly jail for his lifetime of bad behavior.
Rock ’n’ roll has now morphed into hip-hop and Christianity is waning. Both have been hijacked by our kids. I find hip-hop, rap and most of today’s music to be unrecognizable, but for some strange reason I rather like it. I like the enthusiasm and energy behind it. Sadly, I can’t say the same for the changes I’ve witnessed with Christianity and those who profess to be Christians.
Christianity has been hijacked by people who want to use it for their own consolidation of power. This is not a phenomenon just for America, but is worldwide. Putin professes to be a Christian, yet unprovoked is killing thousands of people. Putin has continually lied to his people, who are slowly learning the truth.
In Georgia, we are witnessing a U.S. Senate GOP candidate, Herschel Walker, twist in the wind over his lies and abortions he’s paid for. His defense is that he should be absolved of any wrongdoing, because his god forgives him. That’s pretty convenient and it may work for his soul, but hopefully it will not work for the voters of that fine state.
As I write this, Oct. 9 would have been John Lennon’s 82 birthday. A disturbed young man with a gun killed the 40-year-old Lennon in New York City, thus robbing the rest of us of his thoughts and words on the times in which we live. It was a cheap shot that left us to wonder: What would John Lennon have to say about today? Who knows, but I suspect he would still be saying, “All we need is love … and truth.”
