This beautiful world that we share appears sadly to be made up of an ever growing multitude of divergent groups, all voicing their personal agendas, as though theirs is the one truth worth hearing. Whether religious, political, or simply ideological, these differences separate hearts and minds into a fragmented conglomeration of views that only serve to perpetuate the barriers between our hearts. Certainly, a healthy debate can foster better understanding of the “others,” but when strong beliefs become dogma, and dogma becomes zealousness that results in violence, then we have failed as a very species to live in harmony, even amidst our many differences.

At the risk of sounding cliche, I must ask, why can’t we all just get along? This 50th anniversary of the Beatles invasion of the US leads me to one simple word of John Lennon’s, as he urged us toward awareness of needed cooperation with each other: Imagine.

- Joseph Ciarlo, East Aurora

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