Maybe LBJ was a Lennon fanboy. There's a dreamy "Imagine" quality to the early lines of the speech. Line 17 begins "The Great Society is a place where (…)," and the next five lines repeat "It is a place (…)".

It might not exist right now, LBJ is saying, but it can. And once we get there, all kinds of good things will happen: "every child can find knowledge" (17); "a welcome chance to build and reflect" (18); "renew contact with nature" (20); "honors creation for its own sake" (21); "more concerned with the quality (…) than the quantity." (22)

Johnson is asking his audience to believe in the possibility. You may say he's a dreamer, but he's not the only one. He hopes some day you'll join him, and the world will live as one.

Sorry, John…