Bono the great?
I like Bono; he’s an idealist, mainly because it’s very difficult not to be charmed by him in some fashion. Between his music and the causes he fights passionately for he has managed to educate the masses and highlight injustice around the world.
It is a brave man who takes on the issues that he does. Even as far back as 1996 (at the MTV European music awards) when France was performing nuclear testing in the Pacific, he wouldn’t hold back when addressing the Parisian audience, “What a city, what a night, what a crowd, what a bomb, what a mistake, what a w***** you have for a President.”
Third world debt is, by far, the biggest issue he could take on. He has devoted so much time to it that some may have forgotten what he does for a living. As I’ve stated he’s an idealist and the problems in Africa and other poverty stricken countries have not just appeared overnight. His eagerness to try and help solve the problem might come across as him believing that he is the only one that can do it.
I do not think it’s arrogance but more that he realizes that he is in a position where many people across the world worship him and listen intently to everything he says. With that power should bring responsibility and that is what the Paris Hilton’s and Britney Spear’s of the ‘celebrity’ world tend to forget.
These days, everyone wants John Lennon’s sunglasses, accent and swagger, but no one is prepared to take their clothes off and stand naked like he did in his songs. Putting your head over the parapet means something completely different these days, but it’s still a big part of what rock is all about for me. You have to use your celebrity, negotiate your position and be aware that celebrity can diminish a cause as much as illuminate it.
Bono
One of the problems with his ideals is that he portrays this fight against poverty as something that can be easily done. It’s naïve to think that all we have to do is ask these countries that hold debts over third world nations to stop and they will automatically fall down on their knees and say ‘You know Bono, you’re right. All this time we were worried about raising taxes for our own citizens, but who cares we’ll just wipe out the debt of other countries first’
It’s not that easy because there are three sides to this story. On one side you have Bono and the many other campaigners, on the other the politicians from the countries that hold debt over the poorer regions. In the middle is the issue at hand, both sides can come together to solve the problem but there is no way that decades of debt can just be tossed aside without some problems cropping up.
For all his good work and deeds the announcement that all of his and the band’s business interest will be moving to the Netherlands. It seems to me you’re taking away the very taxes that are needed to help the fight against poverty, but then the artist’s tax exemption rule has meant that there are those who do not practice what they preach.
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions.
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JOHN Says:
Bono’s been a massive source of inspiration and for many others for some time. Around the time that the Joshua Tree was released I remember seeing an RTE documentary where a seminarian said he related to lyrics in songs like ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’ to join an order concerned with social injustice.
I think Mike has identified the real reason for the problem that the relocation of U2s business has presented. U2 were once very idealistic Christian activitists, and whilst they continue to be, they have also engaged with capitalism in a very significant way. In their early albums songs like October and New Years Day clearly identified money as the root of all evil. This seems to have changed a little and bono has become involved in property development and private equity funds etc.
But this is really an example of the worker who deserves his wages. I’ve a feeling that U2 take care of their money so that they can give it away. He cannot speak of this publicly. He probably knows that 50% of the world will be cynical about him and his motives, but I’ve a feeling that the only one he really needs to make an impression on is God. So good luck to him. Thanks Mike for the post.
August 6th, 2007 at 1:46 pm