Very good article! They (meaning the local Unitarian and Methodist "ministers" and some city officials) had the nerve to sing this idiotic bit of blather at our 9/11 memorial one year. I left.
My only thought is that people never seriously listen to the lyrics; they're just thinking, "oooh, John Lennon," although I never saw anything that fantastic about him, either.
And "Imagine" has a whiny, irritating melody, on top of everything else.
Lennon was quoted once as admitting it was an incredibly subversive song, but that it slipped by because of the melody, which I actually do like.