All we are saying is give peace a chance...

One two, one two three four
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Midway between our crisis of the 60's, and the present crisis - I was a 'transitional' (temporary) letter carrier in Kansas City, KS. I'm ashamed to admit, I was scared to start. The unknown? I was an idiot for feeling that way. What followed was beauty. The day the USPS had their annual food drive - I delivered mail to perhaps the poorest area in the city. I drove an old Ford Pinto - and the people filled that sucker to the gills FOUR times that day with canned goods.

A month or so later (and I apologize as I've shared this before) there was an old man, guessing 80-something.. more than halfway up a 16' ladder, sawing a limb off his tree. He happened to be white. Next door neighbor walks up, happened to be black - bearing one of those long poles with a saw on the end to give to his neighbor so he could safely cut from the ground. I felt more guilt for my initial fear of working in these neighborhoods... I marveled at that sight, and I thought to myself "I wish everyone could see this."

C'mon
Ev'rybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Centerforracialharmony.org, Belleville, IL. Office of Racial Hamony, Archdiocese of New Orleans... Bridge Center for Racial Harmony, Saginaw, MI. The Foundation for Racial, Ethnic, & Religious Harmony, West Newton, MA. (And many, many more that are organized.. and perhaps even better, the ones not formally organized - like many workplaces across the land where harmony is 'the way')

Let me tell you now
Ev'rybody's talking about
Revolution, evolution, masturbation,
Flagellation, regulation, integrations,
Meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Youth. We, the elders, are supposed to be the ones that teach. Ha! Go to virtually any park in the United States and watch children promote harmony in a world of difference. "We" should feel sheepish in our inactions, in not emulating/expressing, as their unbiased love does.

Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

"Darkness cannot out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.".....

"Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"We may have all come in on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."

"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as people will get to the promised land."

All, from Martin Luther King, Jr.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance