gratitude and the song "imagine"

I was sitting here, listening to John Lennon's "Imagine" wondering what a world without religion, possessions, "a brotherhood of man" might look like.  Then I thought about how possessions are only as important as you make them.  For me, the summer is quickly winding down and school has kept me running mad. Yet this weekend was the nicest I have had in years. I spent four days in a house in the mountains (house-sitting) without electricity and no nearby coffeehouses. Two vices short of a dozen... Anyway, it was wonderful, taking long walks in the woods and playing checkers, uno attack and reading with my son. I didn't get a bit of homework done.  Instead I did all the things I always want to do but rarely find time for, cooking very yummy food, playing, and sleeping. What a gift.
 
"Imagine all the people living for today"
 
"Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too"
 
"Imagine all the people living life in peace"
 
How can that song not bring tears to your eyes? Call me what you wish but I don't get that way listening to the "national anthem" or standing there watching a flag wave, a President speak, or some member of the religious right preach.  Then again, hearing "Imagine" always reminds me of the end of the movie "The Killing Fields" where Dith Pran and Sidney Schanberg are reunited in a refugee camp.  Maybe we could extend Lennon's ideas a bit to include no refugees, no wars waged in the name of peace or oil profit... no Presidents with GPA's less than mine, hey!
I want my degree to mean something yes, but my work to mean something more. Most of all,
I want my truest successes as a human being, to be mirrored in my nine year old (going on thirty!) son's huge blue eyes and perfect smile! 
 
Last thought here...let's get serious about having a woman president. Let's have Janeane Garafalo. Hell if Arnold can claim Hollywood as the most prominent thing on his resume and win an office retaining all of his supreme intelligence to call dems femmes (okay, who should be more insulted there, really?), who's to say no to Janeane?  I'd love to see her tear into those who can't even write their own speeches and especially into those who do!  Go Janeane!  Or Ani, how about it? 
 
Seriously though, I really do think it would be nice to have a leader well read in something other than the old testament while paying lipservice to the new testament, brotherhood and peace.
If George Bush the first can lecture Nelson Mandela on human rights and Bush jr can be nominated for the nobel peace prize, well, we have SERIOUS work to do.
 
namaste.
 
peace!