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One of the most memorable messages of "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" is that the Bush Administration is acting in Iraq just as Nixon acted in Vietnam.

The irony of that particular parallel is that Nixon ran in 1968 as a candidate who made a key message point: LBJ had had several years to end the Vietnam War and didn't deliver, so it was time for new leadership. The same can be said of Bush.

Of course, Nixon then came into office and escalated the Vietnam War. As George McGovern points out, more than 40% of the U.S. GI deaths in Vietnam occurred AFTER Nixon entered the White House. The Vietnam War wasn't ended until Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency, after Nixon's resignation (which came after a landslide election to a second term in office).

Amidst this stunning parallel reality to what is happening in Iraq came John Lennon, breakaway Beatle.

Lennon moved to New York with Yoko in the late '60s and quickly assumed a leadership role in the peace movement. Because he was a Beatle, he had vast influence both musically and politically over younger Americans.

As a result, Nixon personally singled Lennon out for FBI and other surveillance. Finally, the White House settled on trying to deport Lennon on the basis of a minor marijuana conviction in England years prior to his residency in New York.

Lennon fought the deportation order with commitment and humor -- and eventually prevailed. In the end, his attorney was able to prove that Nixon was personally involved in the effort to ban Lennon from the United States.

"The U.S. vs. John Lennon" is a documentary that covers this story -- and the evolution of John Lennon into an activist for an end to the Vietnam War and for peace.

It is a hopeful reminder that one individual can stand firm against the raw, thuggish power of an executive branch that abuses the American Constitution for personal political gain.

The kind of protests and intense activism that America experienced during the Vietnam War seems so far away. This documentary brings that period back and the cultural/political role that John Lennon played in bringing a rogue government to its knees.

With wit, creativity, courage, and elan, he made it "cool" to be for peace.


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