It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I'm a huge U2 fan. Most people would think that I would defend Bono no matter what, because I'm a fan. But that's not the case. I'm largely against most celebrities who use their star power to push their political agendas. But Bono is different. And not just because I'm a fan...
Most celebrities these days seem to be liberal, or at least the ones who voice their opinions the loudest seem to be. Aren't we all sick of Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, et al.? These stars, who are richer than you or I could ever dream to be, and haven't worked a real job in decades, use every opportunity to villify the Republicans as greedy, salivating, evil monsters who want to destroy the world. And there are of course conservative celebs (though I can't think of any off the top of my head) who villify the Democrats as bleeding heart tree-hugging liberals. But we don't hear from them as much as the liberals, for some reason.
A lot of people lump Bono into this group of celebs who push politics. But there are a few things wrong with this unfair stereotype. First of all, Bono doesn't use every chance he gets in front of a microphone to push his political agenda. Try watching any awards show, talk show, or any other public appearance by the aforementioned celebs, and you're guaranteed to get a lecture on how Republicans are ruining the very fabric of society. Bono, on the other hand, knows when he's at an awards show, and keeps his speeches mainly to "thank you's." At one point in every concert, he will mention the One campaign, that he helped to spearhead, and that's at the beginning of their song "One." Appropriate, in my eyes. Other than that, he's not spouting political rhetoric at every turn.
Secondly, and in my eyes, most important, is that Bono never plays along party lines. Tim Robbins would probably puke if he was ever in the same room as George W. Bush. Bono meets with all parties, from W. to Clinton, GOP or Demo alike. To me, this shows that he cares about the issue, not the party. To me, this is paramount. I'm very middle of the road politically, and don't think that party determines what kind of person you are. Just your beliefs. Opinions are just that, opinions. Nobody is wrong or right. I'd rather see Bono championing more funding for AIDS research, than listen to another Susan Sarandon speech about how the war in Iraq is wrong. Ok Susan. You don't like Republicans. We get it. Now shut the hell up.
Bono fights for basic human issues. Cure AIDS. Eliminate starving in Africa. Cancel the debts of nations so poor that they will never be able to pay us back anyway. There's no political slant there. He doesn't spend all his time criticizing people who have different beliefs than he does. That's just being a humanitarian. Bono would not be playing the blame game in New Orleans. He'd just be going out asking anyone who'd listen for help.
I think we all need to be more open-minded to the other sides of the issues. Only looking at one side, whether it's liberal or conservative, just keeps you ignorant to half of what's going on. Be open-minded, and realize that there are people behind all the laws and rulings and beliefs. If you're liberal, or conservative, but are at least open to the other side of the coin, that's great. At least you educated yourself and made a decision. But to simply align yourself with a political party, and go with whatever they say, sounds pretty scary to me. That sounds like brainwashing. I just wish more celebrities would focus more on the issues and less on the politicians.
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Song of the Day: Acrobat, by U2
It's a column about U2 and politics, so easy choice here. This song is my favorite song from the Achtung, Baby album. An angry political rant, yet more mature and jaded than some of their earlier political anthems. The song is dark, angry, atmoshpheric, and builds to one of the greatest crescendos in rock music. The guitar solo at the end is just blistering, and if you think emotions couldn't be expressed perfectly with a few strings on an electric guitar, listen to this song. This is the only song from this album that was never played live, with the exception of one little acoustic snippet once, which doesn't count in my eyes. It's a shame, because live, this song would have kicked some serious ass.
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