By Linda Dagher | Staff Writer
Power, might, victory and strength …. All identifiers of a utopian city. While Sparta fought for strength, Rome fought for rule, and as New York today strives for capital, so does Beijing for power. The voices of war and conflict seem to overtake the world; everyone is fighting, none can truly claim victory. Everyone is waging wars; none can surely ensure prosperity. No sense of improvement towards a utopia is even seen. No strategy or blueprint has ensured a “collective sense of harmony” or “ultimate justice” in this cultural moment. Individuals, the building blocks of a society, have lost sense of true prosperity and humanity. Racism, Islamophobia, and human trafficking is raging in the nations of “fraternity” and “social equity”. Man has fallen short, mainstream societies are failing to prove virtuous, our world is on the brink of a natural collapse…
There must be something else … Another understanding of power, might, victory, and strength.
Maybe the meek are those truly blessed? Maybe the rich are not those who hoard their treasures? Maybe the powerful are not those that seek to step over the marginalized? As the cultural waves have shifted and as kingdoms have failed, many revolutionary minds have sought to redefine key understandings of utopia in ways hostile and radical to their cultures. Proving that there is another way …
In the section on St. Augustine’s concept of Utopia, one radical revolutionist against the political, economic, and religious life of the Roman Empire was Jesus of Nazareth, whose teachings lay the foundation of the city of God. Another notable revolutionary, Karl Marx, offered great insights on the way this world could never achieve a utopia while living under the curse of capitalism.
So, say Jesus and Karl Marx take a stroll in Mar Mikhael. They walk into a bar, “Imagine” plays in the background as they find their way in.
‘Imagine all the people … Livin’ for today’
The conversation flows as Jesus, still inspired by the lilies and sparrows of the Mediterranean shore, whispers “sufficient for the day is its own trouble…seek first the Kingdom of God…all ‘these’ shall be added to you.”
‘Imagine there’s no countries … It isn’t hard to do …
Nothing to kill or die for … and no religion too’
Marx looks towards Jesus and says, well … a kingdom without wars and strife … possible for you?
Jesus replies, “It depends on the kind of kingdom. If the ones glorified in the land are the strong and wealthy, the greedy and healthy; there is no peace for nothing will ever be enough.
But think of a kingdom where “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom”. That’s a kingdom where one climbs the ladder … upside down.
To inherit, you reject greed within yourself. To be part of the King’s clan, you work for peace, not victory.
This kingdom will lead to wars and death, but not of the vulnerable, but the civilians, who protect the leader’s throne. It is the death of leaders to save those who cannot seem to save themselves.
“That last lyric is a favorite!” says Marx… “No religion too, no offense Jesus, but that opium of the people must cease!”
Jesus smiles, “I’m right there with you. Distracted, busy, troubled by the cares and ‘races’ of this world, people are too distracted to find me. They give a tenth of their spices, but they neglect the important matters of the law—Justice, mercy, faithfulness.
Imagine no possessions … I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger … A brotherhood of man
Marx grins, “The accumulation of wealth, the passion that drives this uncontrollable greed or hunger, … it is nothing more than the accumulation of ignorance, agony of toil, and mental degradation.
Oh, and that brotherhood of man … no class that divides them, no race that separates them, no status that disconnects them …”
Their conversation gets interrupted by a breaking news segment…
A group of politicians appear. All eyes are fixed on them as they declare their party’s achievement in decreasing the dollar exchange rate by 2%. They declare the world is falling back into place, Lebanon will be “restored” …
The patrons roar with excitement and sing songs of the party, glad their lives can “resume” as they were years ago
Still, there remains a melody … overpowered by the chaos … you can still faintly hear:
…You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
Jesus and Marx slowly exit the room from the backdoor. Are we dreamers?
To a world obsessed with the superficial, the excessive…
A people enslaved by a culture of wealth and status and an unjust ruling class guarding their plays of monetary manipulation…
A country poisoned by sectarianism…
We are only dreamers.
The sounds grow louder, but an eternal song still glistens softly
Stand still, eliminate the distractions, there is an alternative.
Imagine …