by Patrick Sills

Created on: April 19, 2010

The perfect world. It has been the dream of many since we humans first occupied space here. Straight away, there are two reasons such a wish is, for all intents and purposes, unattainable. For starters, one person’s definition of such a Utopia will be different than that of another. There are no two people who will think exactly alike in every aspect. While some or even many ideals will certainly overlap, others will be as far apart as the vast array of remote galaxies are in the outer reaches of our universe. Or even the closer ones, for that matter. Secondly, even if the whole of humanity could agree on just what constitutes the perfect world and worked collectively to achieve it, there would be nothing left to strive for once the task was finished.

Thus, it would seem logical that all we as writers can do is present our interpretations; our visions, of such a place. Beatle John Lennon’s vision of a perfect world is described quite eloquently in his 1971 song titled, Imagine. Lennon started out in life as a rather cynical, rebellious, and very opinionated young man. However, and likely with the influence of his second wife, Yoko Ono, he became an outspoken activist for world peace. He was very opposed to war, and in the song Imagine he implicitly suggests that religion is responsible for the countless wars that have ravaged the earth since the beginning of mankind. The lyrics to this classic rock ballad strongly discourage religion and place an emphasis on a worldwide brotherhood.

This author tends to agree with this sentiment. A perfect world; if it could be attained, would be a planet free of war with, in Lennon’s words, nothing to kill or die for. We would be free to do as we pleased, provided it didn’t harm or jeopardize the livelihood of another. Moreover, we would all be in agreement as to what these freedoms would include. Ridiculous laws restricting activities based on fabricated lies with no concrete proof that they affect others in a negative fashion, such as smoking bans, would cease to exist.

No rigid set of morals would be in place to raise eyebrows or question one’s sexual preferences or number of willing partners. If an individual wished to commit to an exclusive, monogamous relationship for a lifetime or sell his/her body to the sexually deprived, neither would be judged more harshly over the other. Their individuality would instead be celebrated and appreciated.

The temperatures outdoors would never rise above

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