Bono is first and foremost a rock star. He parades around on stage and people pay good money for it. He also parades around as a humanitarian and people buy it.
I got irritated all over again at the gross mis-use of human resources at the U2 concert last night... naturally that made me think of the Bush Administration. I will get to Bush in a moment, first allow me to slander the U2 concert.
The production itself cost a reported $40 million and takes the crew three days to break down, transport, and set up again. Tickets to the show are anywhere from $50 to $250 a ticket. The stadium I went to holds about 90,000 people. That means in just three shows the production costs are taken care of. There are 45 stops scheduled with a possible third leg being added. Millions of dollars. Hundreds of thousands of staff hours and even more time sacrificed by concert go-ers.
45 times they will pack stadiums across Europe & North America. Stadiums full of talented, blessed people from the richest countries in the world. 45 times people will choose to give their time to watching a man sing. 45 times Bono will shove his political and social agenda to crowds of people. I am sure his intentions are pure; he thinks that he is sharing a message. I am also certain much more could be done.
I could not help but to think of what we could have been doing instead with our time, talents and money. Now, I'm a firm advocate for leisure. I don't think there is anything wrong with going to a concert. But collectively, there might be. Especially when a man is such a fake propionate of change in Africa. He was playing to his audience. The same people who are the lawmakers of the free Nation. The show was very focused on saving Africa. Choose one or the other; a gluttonous music love fest or a humanitarian political rally. Hell, why doesn't he combine the two with an ACTUAL effort made (instead of just talking about it) and then give the people a concert as a thank you.
At one (shameful) moment Bono asked the crowd to "send love and good energy" to a political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma (who by the way, spent her entire Nobel Peace prize money directly on setting up a a trust in her country). So, Bono doesn't even have the guts to use the word "prayer". Come on, we are all Christian and you are toting free speech and you're too afraid to ask your American audience to pray... no, no, that is too much to ask... can we please just send some vibes to her? Ack.
Bono did thank one person, who has actually changed Africa. George W. Bush is a lot of things. A hero to Africa is just one.
President Bush's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) was initiated in 2003. At the time just 50,000 Africans were on anti-retroviral drugs. By 2007, 1.3 million Africans were on medication, much of it paid for by the Bush administration.
His administration pumped $18bn into fighting HIV/Aids, much of it in Africa
He backed cancelling $34bn worth of debt for 27 African states
He launched initiative that has halved Malaria in 15 African countries
He led the condemnation of Sudan's record in Darfur as genocide
He pressed for north-south peace deal in Sudan
He backed Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia to battle Islamists.
{Stats Found here.}
Bush fought war after war in Africa... and won many of the battles. It wasn't a modern war like the one waged in Iraq. It was a calm rebellion. It was a war fought with change and money. Bush has saved millions of lives in Africa. Bono has helped... a little bit.
