Defending Bono

As I said in the comments section of the diary, I found the diary on the front page of Booman Tribune that lampooned U2 and their efforts to alleviate suffering in Africa terribly disappointing.

I became an avid U2 fan over 18 years ago when, in the height of my self-centeredness (my senior year of high school), I saw “With or Without You” on MTV (yes, they still played music back then) and heard that bassline for the first time.  I was blown away, and while I was a casual fan before then, they became my favorite rock band from that day forward.

But, their influence on my life goes way beyond drinking beers and rocking along.  It begins with “Pride (In the Name of Love”) as a 16 year old in an all-white hick town, really asking for the first time who this Martin Luther King guy was and what he was all about.  Why would this Irish, mullet-wearing rocker sing so passionately about him?  

It continued with seeing Bono strut across the stage in the live video from Red Rocks singing “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to that uniquely Larry Mullin Jr. drum beat, and for the first time asking myself why something meant to be so peaceful as religion could cause so much destruction and hatred.

They followed me along into my early twenties, inviting me to ask, while stationed overseas with the US Navy taking care of Marines as a hospital corpsman, what the heck is this “One” Bono says we are all a part of.  And, of course, in 2001 and long into my “grownup” life Bono helped partially heal my heart in the aftermath of 9/11 by belting out “Where the Streets Have No Name” to a scrolling (and breathtaking) list of 9/11 victims behind him.

And now, when U2 songs are more relevant to me than at anytime before, I see him contantly bashed, not by the right-wingers that you would expect, but by my fellow liberals, lampooning him for flying around in a private jet or showing up to a state event in rock star attire.  This is shocking and puzzling to me, when we are at a time when U2 songs would seem to have so much relevance to the issues that are so important to all of us.

Sunday Bloody Sunday: “I can’t believe the news today / I can’t close my eyes and make it go away / How long? How long must we sing this song? / How long?  How long?”

Bullet the Blue Sky: “Across the field you see the sky ripped open / See the rain come through the gaping wound / Pounding on the women and children who run into the arms of america”

New Year’s Day: “Under a blood-red sky / A crowd has gathered in black and white / Arms entwined, the chosen few / Newspapers say, it says it’s true / And we can break through, / Though torn in two we can be one. / I will begin again, I will begin again. / Oh and maybe the time is right, / Oh maybe tonight.
I will be with you again./ I will be with you again.”

Peace on Earth: “Sick of sorrow / I’m sick of the pain
I’m sick of hearing / Again and again / That there’s gonna be / Peace on earth”

Pride (In the Name of Love): “One man come in the name of love / One man come and go /One man come, he to justify / One man to overthrow”

And, of course…

One:

Which brings me to where U2 is now in my life.  We went to see them last spring.  They managed to bring all of this together with a very powerful message, and yet still rock the house.  They combined powerful imagery (a young African lady reading the UN Declaration on Human Rights as the words scrolled across the screen, Bono wearing a headband with Christian, Muslim, and Jewish symbols and the words “COEXIST” during Sunday Bloody Sunday, and a torture performance by Bono during Bullet the Blue Sky) with powerful music.  And, of course, the most powerful of all messages was playing “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and singing about MLK and his dream, and talking of how his dream is bigger than the borders of the United States, and then singing “Where the Streets Have No Name” to African flags, and then talking about the One Campaign and singing “One.”  It was more powerful than words can convey.  

But that’s simply writing words and singing songs live.  What else has Bono done for this world?  Well, he has probably done more for this world than just about any other human being.  He not only devotes his riches, but his TIME, to the point of bringing U2 to the brink of destruction on several occasions.  Should he sell his private jet and donate the proceeds to Africa?  Would that have more impact on alleviating suffering than what he is doing now?  Perhaps some around here would be the most impressed if he donated everything, quit U2, and blogged from a cheap apartment somewhere.  

This is not to criticize bloggers, who serve an important function for the liberal cause, but to sit behind your keyboard making fun of, and criticizing, Bono for his efforts to alleviate suffering on the African continent is to rise of the level of the deepest and most hurtful cynicism.  It is against the very ideals that I hold true as a liberal, and assume other liberals to hold true to as well.  There is nothing funny about what Bono has been devoting his life to, even if he does show up to receive a medal for his efforts via his private jet while wearing sunglasses.