Stop the War

The Viet Nam war was in the front of everyone's minds that summer, like the invasion of Iraq has been for the last few summers now. As the war escalated, more and more anti-war songs appeared on the radio: "War (What Is It Good For)," "I Ain't Marching Anymore," "Universal Soldier," "Eve of Destruction," and "Bring Them Home." Then there was "Give Peace a Chance," written and performed by John Lennon without the other Beatles. It didn't sound like a Beatles song, but there was that familiar voice, the familiar acoustic guitar rhythms, making the call for an end to the war. Lennon's song was far from the first or even the most popular protest song, but it exploded with musical power and with the raw simplicity of its message. My friends and I memorized even the somewhat tricky lyrics of the verses and sang them in the back seats of station wagons as our parents drove us to Little League practice, scouts, and to Sunday school. Lennon was on board – he'd step to the head of the line and help lead the antiwar effort. With his charisma and intelligence, maybe now people would listen. This might be the song to do it!

We saw college kids protesting, singing, everywhere. UC Berkeley was just over the hill from where we lived and the free speech movement, the protests, women's lib, and improved race relations were all bound up into one big cause, into us against them[i]. The songs seemed to hold a wisdom, encouragement, and motivation. They were something to play back in your head to remind you that the movement was more than just a thought in your own head, or in the heads of a small group of people you could see. Just knowing that there were other people like you throughout the country, hundreds of thousands or millions of protestors, singing the same songs, chanting the same slogans, all with the same goal: the songs provided a strong sense of solidarity.


[i] And it seemed so simple: if you had long hair, you were for these things. If you had short hair, you were in favor of napalming innocent babies in a country that we weren't even at war with (Cambodia), you believed the white race to be superior to others, and you hated rock music.