Allow me to tackle the elephant in the room at the outset: The juxtaposition of having an anthem about “no Heaven” and “no religion” performed at the funeral of a man — a former president — whose life was largely defined by his faith was rather jarring. That — nearly half a century ago — its author attended the inauguration of said president, who was still in office when said author was felled by an assassin’s bullet, adds several layers to the story.
I understand why some may take issue with the inclusion of “Imagine” at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Although…Jim Geraghty makes an interesting observation about what the song actually invites us to do:
The fact that the song asks us to imagine there’s no heaven is a de facto concession that there is indeed a heaven; otherwise there would be no need to ask us to envision otherwise.
