in defense of bono
Recently I have had many people ask me about Bono. The way they have asked is in a condescending tone, looking down their nose at me and saying, “So, what do you think about Bono?” This then is usually followed by a mild scoff, and/or moderate diabolical laughter. All this as if to say they know something about him that will expose his imperfection.
People are asking this because recently there have been a few decisions Bono, and others he is involved with (including the band) have made that has raised some eyebrows. As a result they have been accused of being money hungry and greedy. The first is that Elevation Partners (of which Bono is one of six partners) purchased a significant minority stake in Forbes Media. The financial terms were not disclosed, but the investment was reportedly pegged at more than 40%, at a cost of $250 million to $300 million.
The second thing people are pointing to is U2’s latest album titled, “U218 Singles”. It is a single disc 'best of' coming in just a few weeks. Featuring 16 of the band's best known songs, the album also includes two new tracks produced by Rick Rubin at Abbey Road Studios last month. Many have rolled their eyes and accused the band of just wanting to make more money.
The third thing is product red (see the icon on the top right of the page). Many have rolled their eyes saying things like, “Real cool buy a t-shirt from Gap that is twice the normal cost so Gap can make money too.” They have called this nothing more than a publicity stunt for others to sell more gear and get more money.
Many from the government of Ireland, to fringe fans, to people who want to show me that Bono may not be a great guy have pointed fingers at him. The main reason for this connects to his work on behalf of the poorest nations of the world. How could a guy who is investing millions, and making millions possibly care about the poor? So the criticism comes.
I have wondered why people always want to tear down people like Bono. What is it about someone who is doing good things that gives them the bulls-eye on their back? My thought is that when someone is doing good things he or she exposes our lack of doing good things. We all want to be known as people who are doing good things. Yet when someone like Bono comes around he seems to dwarf our efforts.
If we can make someone who is doing good things imperfect, if we can point out their weaknesses then we can sleep well knowing they are hypocrites and we are not. It’s actually nice to live this way. Our role stops being about serving the poor, following after Jesus, and loving our neighbor. Our job changes, and it is about pointing out faults. This is a much easier way of life. If we are busy pointing we do not have to be busy doing. Moreover those who we criticize are bad, and not wanting to be like them we can continue to sit and do nothing.
I am getting tired of people calling others hypocrites. The truth is we all are. All of us say things that we do not live out everyday. My bother is not that people point out Bono’s warts; it is more that people spend time trying to find what is wrong with people making our world better. I know Bono has faults, so does he; he speaks more about those than what he is involved in on behalf of Africa. My point is that we need to spend more time looking within, and building something than tearing down.
One thing anyone can learn about another very quickly is what they are against. Let’s spend our time showing others what we are for. Stop pointing the finger at others. Use your hands to build something, and live with a bulls-eye on your back.