What John Lennon and Barack Obama Have in Common

By Larry Tomczak, Op-ed contributor Sunday, October 18, 2015

Similarities with Barack Obama

As I have prayed daily for and followed carefully the career of President Obama, I'm convinced that he also is a "dreamer" intent on "fundamentally transforming" (his words) our world. Like Lennon, unfortunately, he is not always grounded in reality. He believes in the unscriptural, inherent goodness of man. He thinks if we ignore certain evil realities, partner with enemies and promote peace by highlighting and apologizing for our mistakes, "the world will be as one."

It's one thing to be a rock star composing idealistic, sentimental songs that generate controversy, crowds and cash. It's another thing to be a nation's leader, waxing eloquent making lofty speeches ("we'll usher in a new era of peace"... and this is "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal ...") stirring people about some utopian society that really is unattainable this side of eternity. We cannot afford misguided leaders making reckless decisions jeopardizing our national security and future generations.

While almost everyone wants peace, the fact is there will never be universal peace on earth until the "Prince of Peace" returns and establishes it. In the meantime, we "pursue peace" but must be vigilant to safeguard our national interests by peace through strength.

In 2009, President Obama gave a speech in Cairo quoting the Koran and proclaiming the dream of "a new beginning between United States and Muslims around the world." Withdrawing US forces from Iraq he declared, "We are leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq!" He heralded a "reset" with Russia and went on to promise reductions in military forces and our nuclear arsenal to show our peacekeeping intentions. He applauded a Muslim Brotherhood leader in Egypt (now overthrown and on death row) amidst an "Arab Spring" and celebrated "a new democratic Libya" as he withdrew our forces. And against the counsel of all his senior military leaders, he said we'd pull out our forces from Afghanistan and ignore the plea for a strong peacekeeping transitional nucleus.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, came to America and pled with Congress to stand with our closest ally and the one democratic nation in the Middle East. Despite Iranian promises and threats to "wipe Israel off the map," our president celebrated a "nuclear deal" only a delusional dreamer could imagine.

Refusing to identify the enemy as Islamic jihadists, President Obama soft-pedaled them as "JVs" involved in "random violence." A military massacre was "workplace violence" and four Americans killed in Benghazi was not due to Islamic terrorism but rather a spontaneous demonstration that got out of hand, provoked unfortunately by some offensive video.

Mr. Obama's attempts at appeasing enemies and apologizing for America are products of a fantasyland worldview. His quest "to find effective partners — not just in Iraq, but in Syria and Yemen and in Libya" was supposed to "create the international coalition and atmosphere in which people across sectarian lines are willing to compromise and are willing to work together in order to provide the next-generation a fighting chance for a better future."

"Strawberry Fields" Become Killing Fields

John Lennon wrote about "Strawberry Fields" as an idyllic childhood place where one could be taken to find peace. It was a real children's home in Liverpool, later torn down.

Over the past number of years, President Obama spoke platitudes and took ill-advised actions hoping he could take us to a place of peace in the Middle East. Ignoring history and reality, his decisions have now brought us to killing fields once again.

The Wall Street Journal described Obama's Middle East Muslim mess this way on Saturday, October 10, "A fighting chance for a better future in the Middle East? Make that a better chance for a fighting future. It is clear that the president's strategy is failing disastrously. Since 2010, total fatalities from armed conflict in the world have increased by a factor of close to four … Total fatalities due to terrorism have risen nearly six fold … Nearly all this violence is concentrated in a swath of territory stretching from North Africa to the Middle East to Afghanistan and Pakistan and there is every reason to expect the violence to escalate …."

Time magazine recently stated in an article entitled, "The U.S. War Against ISIS is Going Nowhere" (10/5/15), "The American effort has failed in form and function. It will need to be completely reworked or dropped as a failure," stated a recently retired United States four-star general.

Anthony Zinni, retired Marine General and head of the Central Command (1997–2000) stated emphatically, "It's a mess!"

Larry Tomczak is a best-selling author and cultural commentator with over 40 years of trusted ministry experience. His passion is to bring perspective, analysis and insight from a biblical worldview. He loves people and loves awakening them to today's cultural realities and the responses needed for the bride of Christ—His church—to become influential in all spheres of life once again. He is also a public policy advisor with Liberty Counsel.