Give Peace a Chance

550 Words3 Pages
Many people disagree with the actions of the government on certain and specific political issues and choose to voice their opinion, as allowed by the Constitution. During the sixties and seventies, many Americans were against the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War and spoke out against it. Artists, as well as citizens, chose to clearly denounce the war. John Lennon, for example, wrote and performed the song "Give Peace A Chance." This song reflects Lennon's views on the Vietnam War and war in general. Immediately in the first verse, Lennon lets the reader know his stance on the political issue of war. He demonstrates this through the line "All we are saying is give peace a chance," telling the reader that he or she should strive for peace and not war. Additionally, in the lines "Ev'rybody's talking about/Ministers, Sinisters, Banisters and canisters" Lennon shows the involvement of ministers, sinisters, and canisters during this time of war. The term minister reflects how religious preferences, most commonly Christianity, had an effect on a person's view of war. The next term, sinisters, is referring to the evil and menacing people were involved in the war. Whether Lennon directed this statement towards the United States government, spies, or the enemy is unknown, but it is known that he did not agree with those who were evil and menacing. Finally, the mention of the term canisters is showing the technology and weapons of war; a canister held many shells, or bullets, that were contained in a gun to be used in war. Lennon also refers to an expression of his own creation, bagism, in the line “Ev’rybody’s talking about/Bagism, Shagism, Dragism;” the term bagism, according to Lennon, refers to wearing a bag over someone’s head. He further explained his idea that if a person wore a bag over his or her entire body, a person could not be judged by others on
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