FOR A DREAMER (for John)

Nonviolence is the greatest weapon given to man. Even if you are alone, stand up to the whole world. Mahatma Gandhi 1. Tiananmen Square and the "Tank Man" 1989, Tiananmen Square, China. About 100,000 students and citizens gathered to demand democratization. The Chinese government deployed soldiers and tanks against these unarmed people. The clashes began with the use of force to suppress the situation, and the situation escalated to include indiscriminate shootings, and eventually a horrific scene unfolded, with tanks mowing down and running over civilians. I was still in my 20s at the time, and watching the young people of my generation bleeding and collapsing on TV, I was devastated by sadness, helplessness, anger, and a sense of helplessness at myself for just watching the screen and not being able to do anything. At that time, I was transfixed by the image of a young man shown on the news the next day. This is the young man who would later be called "Tank Man." A nameless young man appears out of nowhere in front of a People's Liberation Army tank that has arrived at Tiananmen Square to put down the student democratization movement. The slender young man in a dress shirt, carrying a large paper bag in each hand, stands in front of the tank, blocking its path. The tank stops and changes direction. Then the young man steps in front of it again. After repeating this several times, the young man jumps onto the tank, peers into the driver's seat and says something. Then, when he jumps off the tank, it suddenly accelerates. But the young man stands in front of it again. After a while, some people who appear to be civilians pick up the young man and carry him to the sidewalk. The video ends there. The whereabouts of the "Tank Man" are unknown, and it is said that he was captured and died in prison. 2. What the "Tank Man" left behind His image is burned into my memory. His thoughts and courage moved me and left a lasting impression on me. At the same time, I was also touched by the fragility and emptiness of the people who gathered at Tiananmen Square to change the world, and how easily their thoughts and courage were crushed by violence. And so I wanted to write a song about him. I added #JohnLennon to the subtitle. I also wove in John's words. But what I wanted to write about wasn't John as a "great man." I simply chose John as a symbol of courage, confronting power while rejecting violence. Unlike John, he didn't leave behind many messages or historically memorable works, but like "Tank Man," he simply spoke out with courage, took action, and lost countless nameless lives. What was the meaning of those lives? That was the theme of this song. 3. The world does not change, history repeats itself. The Tiananmen Square incident was the largest postwar rebellion by students and citizens against the government in China. But even that ended as a tragedy in which thousands of lives were lost. 30 years have passed since then. Nothing has changed, neither for people nor for the world. Looking back, John, Ghandi, and Martin Luther King, who all wanted to change the world for the better through non-violence, lost their lives to violence. Even recently, the desire of the people of Hong Kong to "protect democracy" was crushed by the military and oppressive laws of those in power. Hong Kong's democratic media, Apple Daily, continued to publish in order to resist China's oppression and protect democracy and freedom of speech, but was forced to close due to the Chinese authorities freezing its assets. In Myanmar, many citizens protested the military coup and raised their voices in demonstrations. However, more than 700 citizens, including a 19-year-old female student, were massacred. Violence tramples on non-violence in countries all over the world. Although it is not as extreme or obvious, Japan is no exception. While claiming to be a "democracy," those in power create laws to manipulate and use people in ways that are convenient for them, they hand out money to large corporations and the wealthy so they can maintain their power, and we have a social structure in which poor people who have neither power nor money are cast aside. There is even a culture in which people are hesitant to speak out against those in power, and are rejected and criticized. When many students, as SEALs, spoke out against a law that would allow Japan to participate in America's wars, they were met with a barrage of online bashing. A woman who was labeled as having connections to violent groups and who mustered up the courage to speak in front of the National Diet was bombarded with insults such as "anti-Japanese traitor," "hang yourself," "you're doing anti-government work for money," "I want to rape you," and "women shouldn't have a say in politics," which led to PTSD. If you look around the internet, you'll see that discrimination and hate are rampant. The trend of powerful people and those who follow them using verbal violence to suppress those who criticize authority is no different from the structure of controlling people with force and violence. 4. "Someday our world will be as one!" The "Tank Man" stopped the tank with just his body. But the tank didn't stop, and the "Tank Man" disappeared. When the anti-Vietnam War movement was in full swing, John was a symbol of the anti-war movement and participated in many demonstrations and rallies. However, when the police tried to stop these people's movements by force, people shouted "kill the pigs!", John answered "kiss the pigs!". This was because he wanted to change the world with love, not violence. However, many people criticized John for being "naive." His own life was also taken by violence. But their lives were not wasted. Their feelings have been passed down to us. I was also encouraged by the "Tank Man" and I believe I have lived with those feelings in my heart. Even if nothing in reality changes during my lifetime, one day a world where people can love and support each other will surely come. Those dreams and wishes are connected from their lives to the people around them. The vow of non-violence will never die. Neither "Tank Man" nor John, nor the countless people who stood up with courage and lost their lives, are great people or heroes. They are just "someone" you could find anywhere. If each and every life has a "role" in life, their lives were to "connect thoughts". And perhaps any of us could become a "Tank Man". I would like to be a "Tank Man" myself, and I hope that the number of my fellow "Tank Men" will increase, even if only a little. I believe that these dreams and wishes will be passed on to the next generation.