Sherri McIntyre
After reading last week’s article “U2: Music, entertainment, and agenda?” by Rachel Ward, I felt compelled to correct her review.
I also attended the U2 concert at the Palace, at the cost of $100 for my ticket. It was the best concert I have ever attended, and it was worth every cent.
Ward talked about Bono wearing a white blindfold and how the stage backdrop had different religious symbols. Ward said: “Bono started ranting about how those symbols don’t really mean anything, and they shouldn’t be a barrier to world unity. … Actually, Bono, some people do live and die for those symbols.”
Talk about missing the point! I think it’s fair to say Bono knows as well as anyone else about people dying for their beliefs: He was raised in Dublin by his Catholic father and Protestant mother, and he was frequently exposed to hate crimes and killings of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. These experiences influenced many of U2’s songs.
The blindfold was actually a white bandana with the handwritten message “COEXIST” with the Muslim crescent symbol representing the “C,” the Jewish Star of David, the “X,” and the Christian cross, the “T.” Bono was not saying these symbols are meaningless; rather he was saying people should not have to die for having different beliefs but instead should learn to coexist.
Ward described another part of the concert as a “1984 nightmare.” The woman’s voice and the message scrolling over the screen was actually the Declaration for the One Campaign, which states: “We believe that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty. ... We commit ourselves—one person, one voice, one vote at a time—to make a better, safer world for all.”
The number on the screen to text was UNITE (86483). By sending a text with your name, you were signing the Declaration. Once you texted this number you received a message that said: “This is bono, thx 4 taking action with the ONE campaign 2 make AIDS and poverty history. Check out www.one.org on the web for more. Peace.”
There was no mention of a donation from the text or Web site. In fact, the Web site does not even offer the opportunity to donate. The only request U2 made was for its fans to become involved with the One Campaign.
I find it hard to believe someone is able to go to a U2 concert and enjoy the music but at the same time be appalled by their messages. How can you not see that the messages in their songs are the same messages displayed on the screen in the One Declaration and found on the bandana that said “COEXIST”? How can you differentiate between the band playing the songs “Love and Peace or Else” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and Bono making a plea for world peace, between the band playing “One” and Bono asking you to sign the One Declaration? How can you say you enjoy these songs if you do not agree with U2’s message?
Even if it had only been “a good old-fashioned concert, where they just play music,” you would have been hearing the same exact messages. Each of U2’s songs has a deeper meaning behind it. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Love and Peace or Else” were both written in an effort to promote peace. When U2 released the single “One,” they elected to donate all proceeds from it to various AIDS-related charities. And, of course, “Pride (In The Name of Love)” is the song Bono wrote for Martin Luther King Jr.
Bono once said: “As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both.”
I think it is about time celebrities use their star power and wealth to make a difference in the world, and I applaud U2 for pioneering the way.
McIntyre is a Hillsdale College senior majoring in marketing/management.