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Student Name
Mrs. Stonitsch
English 9/ 3rd Period
13 May 2014
“Peace and Love are Eternal”
Growing up in a terrifying world at war, nobody would have thought John Lennon would
soon become one of the most influential peace activists of his time. John Lennon devoted his life
to spreading peace and love throughout the world, and his message will live on forever. Lennon
spread his message of peace through his music. He prompted people to imagine a world at peace.
Lennon spent a large amount of his life protesting his beliefs on world peace and love. Through
his music, protesting actions, and beliefs, John Lennon promoted peace and love to society.
For most of his childhood, Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi in Liverpool, UK, who
told him he could not make a living playing the guitar after buying him one (“John Lennon”). He
proved her wrong, because he wanted to become a musical artist. He was very familiar with a
world at war, as he was born at the time of the Nazi bombing of Britain and lived through the
Vietnam War. Lennon grew up with violence all around him, and he soon began to desire peace.
The Quarrymen was his first band starting in 1955 while in high school, and he met Paul
McCartney in 1956 when they began writing songs together. This led to the formation of the
Beatles, which included two additional members who were George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Lennon started a solo career which focused on the spread of peace in 1968 after the Beatles’
official breakup in 1970, some of which included a peace movement with his wife, Yoko Ono.
Lennon grew up in a world at war, and he believed that the world should live in peace.
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John Lennon’s beliefs revolved around a peaceful and loving society. He believed in
promoting peace in a peaceful way. Lennon believed everyone wanted peace, but tried to
receive it the wrong way, with violence. Lennon stated, “If you want peace, you won’t get it with
violence” and “…‘Give Peace a Chance’, not ‘shoot people for peace’” (“John Lennon Quotes”).
Another belief of his was that the world should come together to spread peace forever. He
believed “…Peace and love are eternal” (“John Lennon Quotes”). Lennon’s beliefs shaped his
life in a way that helped him spread and promote peace to the world. On way he expressed his
beliefs was through his music.
John Lennon’s music promoted the ideas of peace and love throughout society. One
example was his extremely popular song about a world at peace, “Imagine.” Lennon prompted
society to “Imagine all the people living life in peace.” He promoted people coming together to
bring peace with the lyrics “I hope someday you’ll join us / and the world will be as one”
(“Imagine”). Through the lyrics in “Imagine”, one can have hope that one day the world will live
in peace. Lennon’s very popular song was even turned into a documentary about his lifelong
journey of promoting peace and love. Even during his time with the Beatles, John Lennon
supported peace and love with songs such as “All You Need Is Love” and “Strawberry Fields
Forever”. Lennon used his music as a huge promoter of his beliefs on peace and love.
Quite a few of John Lennon’s songs encouraged peace by showing his opposition to war,
more specifically the Vietnam War. Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, recorded “Give Peace a
Chance” in their suite at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. “Give Peace a Chance” became an anti-war
chant about simply trying to achieve world peace. In protest of the Vietnam War, crowds of
people sang Lennon’s powerful lyrics, “All we’re saying is give peace a chance” at the
Washington Monument (Whitehead). This was an example of his promotion of peace affecting
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society. Another anti-war song, “Happy Xmas” made people resent the war, because even during
the holidays there was war going on. Also, the optimistic lyrics “War is over” gave society
positive thoughts on the war ending (“Happy Xmas”). Lennon’s lyrics in the song “Mind
Games” encouraged love. He sang, “Love / I want you to make love, not war” (“Mind Games”).
Both songs were huge hits and examples of his music promoting his beliefs on love and peace.
Along with his music, John Lennon promoted peace and love to society through his actions.
Lennon spent his married life protesting for peace with Yoko Ono. Lennon and his wife
held two “Bed-Ins for Peace” during their honeymoon in the suite of the Amsterdam Hilton in
1969 and in Montreal. During their “bed-ins,” Ono and Lennon propped themselves in a bed and
spoke to the media about their ideas on world peace. Their “bed-ins” sparked tons of the public
media’s attention (“John Lennon Biography,” Rolling Stone). The “bed-ins” were Lennon’s way
of showing society that peace can be protested for in a peaceful way, and these events inspired
many people to do the same. The couple also protested the Vietnam War in various ways. They
campaigned with peaceful speeches saying “War is over! If you want it.” They even posted this
significant message on billboards in many famous cities to further promote the idea to society
(“John Lennon Biography,” Rolling Stone). Lennon received an MBE (Member of the British
Empire) award in 1969 and returned it to the Queen to protest Britain’s support in the Vietnam
War (“John Lennon”). He promoted to society, yet again, to protest peacefully. Lennon’s beliefs
prompted him to devote his life to being a peace activist, and he used his music and protesting
actions to do so.
John Lennon was born in an unfortunate world at war. This prompted him to dedicate his
life to stopping war and promote peace and love to society. Lennon believed that the world
should come together to imagine and make a peaceful and loving world. Lennon encouraged his
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beliefs through a countless number of songs about world peace and love. With his wife Yoko
Ono, he started a peace movement, protesting for peace in numerous ways. John Lennon’s
devotion to spreading world peace and love with his beliefs, music, and actions will never be
forgotten.