The Museum of Australian Democracy acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.

The museum respectfully acknowledges the role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to play in shaping Australia’s democracy.

xClose
Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
  • About
  • Blog
  • Prime Ministers
  • Websites
  • Venue hire
  • Visiting
  • What's On
  • Collection
  • Learning
  • Democracy
Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
  • Visiting
    • Planning your visit
    • Families at MoAD
    • Access
    • Group bookings
    • Cafe
    • MoAD Shop
    • UNSW Canberra Howard Library
  • What’s On
    • Exhibitions
    • Events
  • Collection
    • The Building
    • Objects and rooms
    • Oral Histories
  • Learning
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Parents
  • Democracy
    • Defining democracy
    • Australian democracy: an overview
    • The democratic audit of Australia
    • One thing I like about democracy
    • Links
    • Quotes
    • Notes
    • About
    • Blog
    • Prime Ministers
    • Websites
    • Venue hire
    From the blog

    Imagine: John Lennon at 75?

    4 minute read

    Fri 9 Oct 2015 by
    Dr Barry York
    • democracy
    • general

    John Lennon was born on 9 October 1940 in Liverpool, England. Had he lived, he would be celebrating his 75th birthday today. There’s no doubt the world would have been celebrating with him.

    Like other artists whose unique talents and creativity live on for generations after their passing, John Lennon was a complex individual, with nice and nasty qualities, idealism and cynicism.

    He was always my favourite Beatle. I liked his radicalness and sharp wit. He was the group’s thinker, the ‘political’ Beatle during a period when many young people throughout the western world were questioning and challenging the ways, habits, and established institutions, of previous generations. We were also rebelling in more direct ways against the US and its allies in Vietnam, apartheid in South Africa and all forms of racism. And John was on our side!

    In 1965, the Beatles were awarded the MBE (Members of the British Empire) by the Queen. Four years later, as John’s political awareness developed, he returned his medal in protest against British policy in the Nigerian civil war and against the Vietnam war – and also, he said in jest, to protest against his record, ‘Cold Turkey’, slipping in the charts. He was no Gandhi or Martin Luther King jr. There was always the acerbic quip or joke to make clear that he did not take himself as seriously as his admirers or as the scholars who dissected the Beatles lyrics in search of deeper meaning.

    Lennon believed in the power of music when linked to social movements for change. After the Beatles officially broke up in 1970, he took part in protest rallies and marches in America, where he had settled with Yoko Ono in 1971, and his music became much more political. In 1969, ‘Give peace a chance’ had become an anthem for the Vietnam protest movement around the world, while ‘Power to the people’, released in 1971, laid bare what democracy is really about. Or should be.

    His ultimate song, though, was ‘Imagine’, also released in 1971. It has been described as ‘a humanist plea and socialist anthem’. Its sweet slow gentle delivery hides a message that is uncompromisingly radical, even revolutionary, in its call for a world without borders, without religion, and based on sharing rather than possession.

    John Lennon was assassinated in his adopted home of New York City on 8 December 1980. He lives on through his music and whenever people imagine a better future.

    What’s your favourite John Lennon song? And why?

    4 minute read

    Fri 9 Oct 2015 by
    Dr Barry York
    • democracy
    • general
    John Lennon. Getty Images.

    John Lennon. Getty Images.

    Barry York was an historian at MoAD for ten years from 2006. His email is barryyork554@gmail.com To mark the 50th anniversary of the Waterdale Road marches, he has undertaken a self-funded oral history project, recording memories of some participants.

    Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

    18 King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600, Australia

    PO Box 3934
    Manuka ACT 2603

    9am to 5pm daily 
    Closed Christmas Day

    ABN: 30 620 774 963

    Telephone: 02 6270 8222

    Enquiries:
    info@moadoph.gov.au

    Please note: video surveillance is used 24 hours a day around and throughout the building and may be used for research purposes

    Visiting

    • Planning your visit
    • Families at MoAD
    • Access
    • Group bookings
    • Cafe
    • MoAD Shop
    • UNSW Canberra Howard Library

    What's On

    • Events
    • Exhibitions

    Collection

    • The building
    • Objects and rooms
    • Highlights
    • Oral histories

    Learning

    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Parents

    Democracy

    • Exploring democracy
    • Documenting a democracy
    • Australian democracy
    • Defining democracy

    About

    • Disability Action Inclusion Plan
    • Our prime minister patrons
    • OPH Board
    • Annual Reports
    • Budget
    • Corporate documents
    • Employment
    • Freedom of information
    • Public Interest Disclosure
    • Media
    • Newsletter
    • Support us
    • Partnerships
    • Democracy 2025
    • Donate to our collection
    • eCommerce terms and conditions
    • Online house rules

    Blog

    Prime Ministers

    Websites

    Further information

    View our recruitment opportunities.

    View our copyright policy.

    View our privacy statement.

    View our ticketing terms and conditions.

    Questions about the website:
    website@moadoph.gov.au

    The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House is a Corporate Commonwealth Entity within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet