JOHN LENNON AND BEING MIA

M.I.A. is always a terrifying report. To be missing-in-action conjures up the worst of combat possibilities. And yet, MIA is not isolated to wars. There are countless cases in peacetime as well. Consider America here in 2010 where we find "missing" such desirables as: balanced budgets, full employment, fair taxes, and world peace.

When John Lennon wrote "Imagine" he had such felicities in mind, especially world peace. But now reverse the order, and imagine what our lives would be like if there were even more MIAs today.....

Imagine an America without on-line dating services. Surprising as it may seem to the elder generations, nearly 30% of all new couples in the US find one another via the Internet's growing social media.

Imagine an America without casinos. More and more cash-strapped states are granting casino permits to tap into needed tax receipts. In the northwest alone, there are 41 casinos with 20 more planned. Oh, and Illinois's 10th gambling palace is being erected as this is being written -- just 1.7 miles from my soon-to-be-boarded-up front door.

Imagine an America without strong and attractive women. Take Hale Berry and Sandra Bullock. Each betrayed by a skank of a husband which Cornell University studies show are disgustingly symptomatic of most 18-28 year old men who feel threatened by marrying successful beauties who overshadow their fragile male egos

Imagine an America in which the hot new TV series "Mad Men" were not available. In one of those peculiarly unpredictable flashes, its 1960s plot about hard-drinking ad men and busty broads has inflamed the imaginations of a whole new generation. Having myself been there in the late 1950s, I have documentable doubts about this portrayal; but who cares about doubts when you're busy dreaming.

Now imagine an America without children. Unthinkable? And yet with the start of another school year, our streets are empty each day from morning to afternoon. Walk them sometime and drink in the silence. Not only instructive, but impoverishing.

Finally, imagine an America without the Internet. For all it questionable effects on everything from brain circuits to moral values, it has achieved something of Lennon's dream. Most of the world's 6 billion inhabitants are now in instant 24/7 touch with one another's facts, feelings, and fortunes. No party, no government, no army can completely stifle this planet-wide exchange. And that -- fellow imagineers -- could be the beginning of something bigger than even John Lennon imagined...