Street Level

And so this is Christmas, and what have you done?

Joey Jack has made me smile.

He makes me smile frequently whenever I see one of his posters that proclaim "War is Over — If You Want It. Happy Christmas from John & Yoko.”

Joey got the inspiration from a website that had the poster and encouraged people to print and display it throughout the holiday season.

They’re simple posters, black on white.

Their message is simple, too.

He’s made hundreds of them and they’re popping up on hydro poles, telephone poles, signposts, store windows, places you might not expect.

And it makes me smile for so many reasons.

First, it is satisfying to know the next generation still harbours the dreams that one day, there might actually be peace in someone’s lifetime.

It’s probably not going to be mine, but maybe my children might some day know a world without war

And if not then, perhaps my grandchildren.

Joey’s signs make me believe that could come true.

His signs make me smile because they transport me back to my own younger years, when we knew in our hearts that war is wrong — something many hearts don’t seem to realize now, especially in Ottawa — and that all it took was love.

Corny? Yup.

But back then, it was our theme song.

Joey’s signs make me smile because they remind me of all the incredible music that came from the mind of John Lennon.

More than the schmaltzy Do They Know It’s Christmas, it was Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War Is Over) song that resonated at the time and continues to do so today.

And every time I see one of Joey’s signs, all those memories and emotions and beliefs come tumbling back.

So for people — including some I consider to be friends — to decry Joey’s signs as littering is unbelievable.

Perhaps, to continue the Lennonisms, one could call it unimaginable.

Every day of every week of every year, it seems like these sign, hydro and telephone poles are being plastered with gaudy, often illegible, posters advertising this concert or that show or some other event that has a limited — if, indeed, existent — audience.

There’s never been an outcry in the media — at least that I can remember — excoriating these poster posters to stop the littering and clean up.

In fact, many of these signs remain in tatters, held on by super-industrial-style tape, apparently, until the Kamloops winds finally remove the last vestiges of them.

But poor Joey puts up a truly universal thought and he’s condemned, even before anyone bothers to ask if he plans to take them down once the season has finished.

(Which, by the way, Joey says he has always planned to do.)

Joey was told by one media outlet that he should respect the city and keep things tidy.

And that makes me smile, too, at the kind of thinking that would view the enthusiasm of a young man who wanted to bring some thoughts of peace to his community could be criticized for not keeping the city tidy.

If we’re going to talk tidy, let’s make everyone take down their posters within a time frame.

Let’s get the litter picked up at Riverside Park after all those events it hosts.

Let’s deal with the needle detritus found in many back alleys and roadways.

Let’s put out a hand to someone who needs uplifting.

It’s Christmas time, for heaven’s sake.

For some, it’s Hannukah. For others, it’s Kwanza, For Muslims, it’s the time of the hajj and its finale, Eid al-Adha.

Whatever your belief, it’s a time we think of peace.

And that means wishing war was really over.

dale@kamloopsweek.com

Posted by Dale at 7:37 a.m. Comments