"Imagine"

Yes, "Imagine," as in the John Lennon song. I always thought I liked the song, but recently, I've found that there is something in it that I'm opposed to.
It's this:
"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace"
See, I don't think that religion is the culprit here. In my faith, we are supposed to view each other as brother and sister. We, as a world family, are supposed to learn to get along with each other and to serve one another. Peace, therefore, ensuing. HOWEVER, and it is a BIG however, I believe that the "natural man" syndrome gets in the way. Now, if John Lennon could have changed those lyrics to imagine that there was no greed, no corruption, no forcing individuals into the same way of thinking and acting upon the world, okay. I can roll with that.
I feel that removing religion is not the answer. Teaching people to truly love each other is a much better answer. Isn't it easy to love an individual who is similar to you? How much harder (and more commendable) to love those who are NOT similar. I really appreciate those with different approaches to thinking because it helps ME to think and also rethink the way I have viewed things. It challenges me and creates a better and more diverse world, not an assimilated one.
So, John, don't imagine such atrocities. Instead, imagine the ultimate: where people can set aside their differences BY CHOICE, and live in harmony with each other. For me, that isn't hard to imagine, especially seeing the circle of friends I have and that they vary quite differently in many ways from myself, yet there is always one connecting factor of taste/interest/world view or whatever it may be, it is only a part and not the whole.
And as a man by the name of Dr. Benjamin Carson has recently stated, "The emphasis should be on learning to be respectful of people with whom they disagree.”