Mar 25 2010
by David Williamson
JOHN LENNON and Yoko Ono's power to puzzle, intrigue, shock and amuse
was never greater than when they summoned reporters to the Amsterdam
Hilton on this day in 1969.
Their seven-day "bed-in" was billed as a protest against violence in
all its forms. This was much less exhausting than marching on the
Pentagon and, in the danger stakes, sitting in bed is considerably
safer than breaking into a nuclear weapons base.
It was a publicity stunt but the image of the happy newly-weds
championing peace and love has lingered in the popular memory. The
sheer absurdity of the act was one of its most provocative qualities.
Dissidents in Soviet Europe pioneered absurdist theatre as a means of
protest because it was impossible to denounce the regime publicly.
Yoko and Lennon lived in liberal democracies but they did not choose
to chair commissions on military and economic policy.
The apparent silliness of their protest suggested that the western
model of democratic capitalism wasn't something you could reform
through criticism and debate it also needed to be dismantled. But
Lennon himself was wary of taking it too seriously, saying: "The
worst than can happen is that we create a laugh. But the best is that
the vibrations for peace get through."
What the protest lacked in intellectual rigour, it made up in
showmanship. Its iconic quality was only heightened when former
President Dwight Eisenhower passed away on March 28. The General had
personified American resolve and was the figurehead of an emerging
superpower which took pride in running its families and its
Government with a straightforward set of values.
Yet the violent resistance to the civil rights movement and the fiery
quagmire of Vietnam challenged this perception of a virtuous nation
the grubby farce of Watergate was around the corner. It was in this
time of soul-searching that Lennon and Yoko championed the concept of
peace and love.
Today's celebrity activists delight in joining in policy discussions,
giving evidence to congressional inquiries and lobbying presidents.
Frontline politicians have been celebrities ever since Bill Clinton
wooed a sceptical America with his saxophone, so this convergence of
public-spirited limelight-lovers is no surprise.
But perhaps we do need artists who can celebrate ancient virtues in
their purest forms. Love and peace are in short supply today and
there is little tolerance for creative absurdity in these serious times.
David Beckham needs to rest his foot and if he and his wife feel like
using their duvet days to promote an alternative to capitalist
militarism they should be applauded for giving peace a chance. The
world's media would be there to record some good vibrations.
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