I finally finished Vertigo: Live in Chicago the other morning while I made breakfast for the family. My daughter & I were dancing to the last third of the concert. They really picked it up for the encore.
The material from Achtung Baby seems less cynical, which is nice. The performance was great.
Except for Bono’s extended speeches. My thoughts on one of the earlier ones in in the archive. Before One he got excited about ending world hunger- the task of this generation in his mind. He compared it to putting a man on the moon.
It sure rallies some folks up- but there is no comparison here. One has to do with conquering physical limitations and mastering scientific realities. The other is mastering the human heart.
What Bono hasn’t figured out in the 20 years since Live Aid is that the main problem driving world hunger is not the leaders of the West. It is largely the greed of the 3rd World leaders.
A friend returned from a trip to Africa recently. One of the things she was going to do was help Samaritan’s Purse distribute packs of food to the poor. Ah, guess again. The local officials wanted many thousands of dollars in brides to allow this to take place. So, the food and other items sat, and sat, and probably still sit. Greed is the problem- and the only cure is Jesus. Calling the White House on the cell (I remember he used to call Bush 41 on the Zooropa Tour) won’t end world hunger. Unfortunately, because of greed, and the curse (Gen. 3) which makes our agricultural efforts more difficult, the poor will be with us until the end.
It doesn’t mean we should not have compassion. But it does mean that we have to be realitic about the effect of our efforts, and wise in the efforts we make. To paraphrase the late Frank Zappa, “Bono, shut up and sing!” Really, that is what Bono does best.
