It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum

Topics => General Board => Topic started by: trapeze on June 29, 2011, 02:15:42 PM

Title: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: trapeze on June 29, 2011, 02:15:42 PM
LINK (http://www.torontosun.com/2011/06/28/lennon-was-a-closet-republican-assistant)

I remember the day he was gunned down and not once before or since has this notion ever crossed my mind.

Quote
John Lennon was a closet Republican, who felt a little embarrassed by his former radicalism, at the time of his death - according to the tragic Beatles star's last personal assistant.

Fred Seaman worked alongside the music legend from 1979 to Lennon's death at the end of 1980 and he reveals the star was a Ronald Reagan fan who enjoyed arguing with left-wing radicals who reminded him of his former self.

If true, though, it gives me yet another reason to despise **** ***** *******. And, no, I will not glorify the bastard by even saying his name. Murderers of famous people want nothing more than to be remembered as the person who killed somebody significant or famous so that they can justify their own pathetic existence. I refuse to participate.

Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Pandora on June 29, 2011, 02:30:03 PM
Lennon a Republican?  Nah, not buying it.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: BigAlSouth on June 29, 2011, 02:36:00 PM
Yeah. And Teddy Kennedy was a closet monogamist and teetotaler.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: charlesoakwood on June 29, 2011, 02:38:37 PM

Probably written by that uber conservative David Brooks.

Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Pandora on June 29, 2011, 02:41:39 PM

Probably written by that uber conservative David Brooks.



Yeah.  Him.

Swish, swish, swish.
Title: TEOTWAWKI- John Lennon: a Republican
Post by: AlanS on June 29, 2011, 04:48:27 PM
Who'd a thunk it. It seems Lennon was maturing in his old age.  ::falldownshocked::Not exactly true conservatism, but progress none the less.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/06/28/lennon-was-a-closet-republican-assistant (http://www.torontosun.com/2011/06/28/lennon-was-a-closet-republican-assistant)
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Damn_Lucky on June 29, 2011, 05:41:31 PM
I don't know Julia Childs was a spy............. ::thinking:: ::cool::
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: rickl on June 29, 2011, 06:13:01 PM
I can see it.  Remember Churchill's quote, "Those who are conservative at age 20 have no heart, and those who are liberal at age 40 have no brain."  It's certainly possible that grew a little wiser as he got older.

Lennon was famously iconoclastic and liked to tweak authority.  Being in the music industry, he certainly knew his share of smug, know-it-all lefties.  It's not far-fetched to think that he may have grown sick of those types.

In addition, there were some leftists (not enough) who re-examined their beliefs in the aftermath of the Vietnam War as they became aware of the atrocities committed by the victorious Communists.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: rickl on June 29, 2011, 06:58:20 PM
Heh.  Mark Levin is talking about this now.
Title: Re: TEOTWAWKI- John Lennon: a Republican
Post by: Libertas on June 29, 2011, 07:05:36 PM
Yeah, OK.  I am really embarrassed by that old John too, too bad the new John couldn't have been more public about his previous foolishness.

I suppose the remaining Beatles and other glitterati of the period will call this late arriving news "rubbish"...
Title: Re: TEOTWAWKI- John Lennon: a Republican
Post by: Pandora on June 29, 2011, 07:47:18 PM
Yeah, OK.  I am really embarrassed by that old John too, too bad the new John couldn't have been more public about his previous foolishness.

I suppose the remaining Beatles and other glitterati of the period will call this late arriving news "rubbish"...

Hate to say it, but I suspect as well that it's rubbish.

Ditching Carter for Reagan does not a Republican make.
Title: Re: TEOTWAWKI- John Lennon: a Republican
Post by: Libertas on June 29, 2011, 08:01:02 PM
Yeah, OK.  I am really embarrassed by that old John too, too bad the new John couldn't have been more public about his previous foolishness.

I suppose the remaining Beatles and other glitterati of the period will call this late arriving news "rubbish"...

Hate to say it, but I suspect as well that it's rubbish.

Ditching Carter for Reagan does not a Republican make.

Perhaps like Bono he was only concerned about protecting future earnings and therefor thought on that score alone Carter had to get the boot.  Maybe in time he could have become more conservative...but we'll never know...
Title: Re: TEOTWAWKI- John Lennon: a Republican
Post by: Predator Don on June 29, 2011, 11:09:23 PM
We all live in a yellow submarine......
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Sectionhand on June 30, 2011, 03:47:24 AM
This sounds like something that stupid Chris Matthews would say .
Title: Re: TEOTWAWKI- John Lennon: a Republican
Post by: Sectionhand on June 30, 2011, 03:54:08 AM
I hear Florence Henderson caught the crabs from John Lindsey AND Lennon too !
Title: Re: TEOTWAWKI- John Lennon: a Republican
Post by: Libertas on June 30, 2011, 06:43:44 AM
Florence got around, that what you sayin'!

 ::rolllaughing::
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Glock32 on June 30, 2011, 09:58:06 AM
Well she did have a certain...Wessonality...about her.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: IronDioPriest on June 30, 2011, 10:07:48 AM
I can believe a transformation took place. But it is curious that the claim is being made only now. I wonder what Yoko has to say?
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Predator Don on June 30, 2011, 10:34:03 AM
I can believe a transformation took place. But it is curious that the claim is being made only now. I wonder what Yoko has to say?


Ono.....
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Pandora on June 30, 2011, 10:38:56 AM
 ::hysterical::

Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Christian?!
Post by: trapeze on July 30, 2011, 01:45:08 AM
Update: Now an FNC report (http://video.foxnews.com/v/1086465779001/john-lennon-secrets) claims that Lennon might have been a closet evangelical Christian.

Seems strange that this stuff is only coming out now. But mostly it just seems strange.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: rickl on July 30, 2011, 02:30:29 AM
Fascinating.  I think it's entirely plausible.  In a comment to an earlier post, I referenced Churchill's famous quote about being a conservative at 20 and a liberal at 40.

Lennon was 40 when he was killed.  I think there's an excellent chance that he would have spoken up if he had lived a few years more.

Yoko has had a lot of control over his legacy, so it's no surprise that she would want to suppress this.  She probably had a lot to do with turning him towards the Left in the first place.

By the way, the Dylan song is indeed entitled Gotta Serve Somebody (http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/gotta-serve-somebody).  The guy in the clip had it right the first time, before he "corrected" himself.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: rickl on July 30, 2011, 02:39:25 AM
Quote
In a comment to an earlier post, I referenced Churchill's famous quote about being a conservative at 20 and a liberal at 40.

Oops, didn't realize this was the same thread.  See my comment on page 1.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: trapeze on July 30, 2011, 11:27:43 AM
By the way, the Dylan song is indeed entitled Gotta Serve Somebody (http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/gotta-serve-somebody).  The guy in the clip had it right the first time, before he "corrected" himself.

Yeah, I caught that, too.

Dylan's embrace of Christianity. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Train_Coming#Conversion_to_Christianity)

Didn't seem to last to long, though. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan#Religious_beliefs)
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: rickl on July 30, 2011, 11:59:04 AM
Didn't seem to last to long, though. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan#Religious_beliefs)

Well, your last link was kind of ambiguous.  The initial fervor wore off, but his conversion definitely changed him.  While he doesn't write overtly Christian songs nowadays, religious references keep popping up in his newer songs.  To cite just one example, 'Til I Fell In Love With You (http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/til-i-fell-in-love-with-you) from 1997:

Quote
Now I feel like I’m coming to the end of my way
But I know God is my shield and he won’t lead me astray

Sorry for going off-topic.  Believe me, I can turn any thread into a Bob Dylan thread.  Just try me.   ;D
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: trapeze on July 30, 2011, 01:14:34 PM
I can't find an online reference but I remember that Dylan was being counseled by Christian musician Keith Green. I always wondered if Green's unexpected death in a plane crash in 1982 was partly to blame for Dylan's falling away from the faith. He had been very enthusiastic about Christianity up until that point.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: rickl on July 30, 2011, 01:21:15 PM
I don't think he's fallen away at all.  He's just not in-your-face about it.

ETA:  But I didn't know about Keith Green.  I'd never heard of him before.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: trapeze on July 30, 2011, 01:26:23 PM
I don't think he's fallen away at all.  He's just not in-your-face about it.

ETA:  But I didn't know about Keith Green.  I'd never heard of him before.

This is the quote that I was referring to:

Quote
By 1984, Dylan was deliberately distancing himself from the "born -again" label. He told Kurt Loder of Rolling Stone magazine: "I've never said I'm born again. That's just a media term. I don't think I've been an agnostic. I've always thought there's a superior power, that this is not the real world and that there's a world to come."


That's the kind of thing that Hugh Hewitt would attribute to people he calls, "embarrassed believers."
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: trapeze on July 30, 2011, 01:33:38 PM
Keith Green wiki link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Green)
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: trapeze on July 30, 2011, 01:47:39 PM
Found  this discussion thread (http://www.puritanboard.com/f51/bob-dylan-theology-25677/) re Dylan/Green/Christianity.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: rickl on July 30, 2011, 02:36:32 PM
Quote
R. Scott Clark  
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I'm not expert, but I'm a fan. As far as I know he hasn't renounced the faith but he has walked away from the evangelical sub-culture. I guess that being a part of the Vineyard wasn't particularly helpful. My impression is that things were not very healthy there at the time. The evangelicals were trying to do to him what they do to every major "secular" media figure who converts: make him into the next evangelical superstar, anoint him as a prophet (which the boomers had already done in the 60s), and "use" him to advance their agenda. Dylan wasn't having any of it and walked away from the subculture. Eschatological themes continue in which writing since. He doesn't say anything about his conversion in Chronicles vol 1 but I don't think it gets that far. He doesn't discuss a lot of things there (such as the motorcycle wreck). That's just Dylan being enigmatic and refusing to do what people think he should do.

That's pretty much my take on it.

The folk music purists were appalled when he went electric.

The leftists were furious with him in the mid to late 60s after he stopped writing "protest songs" and refused to denounce the Vietnam War.

The "sex & drugs & rock'n'roll" crowd were seriously pissed off when he converted to Christianity.

And now some Christians are apparently upset because he isn't openly and explicitly evangelical.

I can't think of any other artist who has systematically told large portions of his audience to f*ck off as much as Dylan has.  He's done it over and over and over again.  And he keeps on going like the Energizer bunny.
Title: Re: Latest Offbeat/Bizarre Claim: John Lennon Was A Conservative
Post by: Glock32 on July 30, 2011, 03:29:45 PM
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The folk music purists were appalled when he went electric.

Neil Young's fans were likewise appalled by his use of synthesizers and vocoders in 1982's Trans album. By contrast, Trans is the only thing of Neil Young's that I actually like.