"One to One" begins some 18 months before the concerts as John and Yoko settle in New York City. For the Lennons, making a new life in the United States was rife with opportunity for continuing the social activism that they had begun with their notorious bed-ins and “Give Peace a Chance.” For John, establishing himself in New York City had been long overdue. “If I’d lived in Roman times, I’d have lived in Rome. Where else? Today, America is the Roman Empire, and New York is Rome itself.”
Not surprisingly, John and Yoko quickly ensconce themselves among the nation’s glitterati, making vital connections with the likes of "yippie" founder Jerry Rubin, Black Panther Bobby Seale and poet Allen Ginsberg. For the Lennons, the peace movement that flourished in the 1960s has all but evaporated in the new decade. Working with the Rock Liberation Front offers the only clear means for effecting change. “Flower power is over,” Yoko laments. To John’s mind, there is a new urgency in the air. “Young people are apathetic,” he cautions. “They think there is nothing worthwhile to do, and everything is finished. They want to take refuge in drugs to destroy themselves. Our work is to tell them that there is still hope and still a lot to do. The revolution has only just begun.”
