do you think that bono truly believes in his causes...

[U2Man]

...or does he know deep inside that some of the things he says will most likely remain words and just words forever?

like for instance..."make poverty history".

he has been saying that in the u.s. a million times, asking the u.s. to eradicate africa's poverty for instance, but the u.s. haven't even eradicated it's own yet! the same goes for many european countries.

what do you think?

 

[J_NP]

What do you think of these ...... Are they familiar ?

 

[LemonMelon]

I think he's being genuine. It's a tough cause...maybe impossible, but he continues to flog it because he knows it's worth it. Wouldn't he rather take on a much easier cause that can actually be solved? It would certainly make him look better to have his charities succeed. But instead, he chose this one...so yeah, I think he believes in his cause.

 

[U2Man]

but on the other hand, he chooses causes that no one expects to be solved, and certainly not in their lifetime, so no one can say that he failed.

 

[Liesje]

he has been saying that in the u.s. a million times, asking the u.s. to eradicate africa's poverty for instance, but the u.s. haven't even eradicated it's own yet! the same goes for many european countries.

what do you think?

Sounds like you're asking more if WE believe Bono's causes.

I think he gets very, very frustrated. I saw him in May and he had just come in from lobbying in DC. It did not go well and he was not in a good mood. I think he was angry, he opened up, and gave the best speech I've ever heard him give.

I think he does believe what he's doing is purposeful and I think he is genuine. Just based on what you see in popular media, it can get a little annoying, same things over and over and nothing to show for it, but when I went to see him speak, he was so much more "real". It wasn't the same rehearsed stuff he says in every single interview. I felt I was for the first time getting a glimpse of the real Bono and how he truly feels. One time he got rather angry, I mean he was shouting and pounded his fist. Not really all that earth-shattering, but certainly different than the same bla bla bla we get from radio and TV interviews. Don't flame me, but I found the Conversations book to be a disappointment.

Since the most recent time I went to hear him speak, I've pretty much stopped reading most of the interviews and articles on Bono. They're all how someone else wants to arrange his statements or make him look. I'd rather take what I saw from the real Bono and go from there.... I feel less frustrated and feel Bono is more genuine when I'm reading transcripts of his own speeches and not other people's interviews and articles.

 

[J_NP]

Now serious but the goal I thought was not poverty , but Extreme Poverty and this is possible is yes possible

In 50 years is possible to do this , changin a country , making heavy investments on education some big results can come up , look at places like Ireland or South Korea , both did this and look at where they are now

 

[LemonMelon]

Better question:

After all of his work, do you think Bono is more sick of Bono than we are?

 

[susanp6]

 

[Liesje]

Now serious but the goal I thought was not poverty , but Extreme Poverty and this is possible is yes possible

Good point. I think Bono calls it "stupid poverty." The cases of hunger globally dropped until 1997 and then went back up again. That's stupid. The world is progressing, but MORE people are dying of hunger? Especially when there is enough food in the world to feed everyone, but it's not properly or equitably distributed.

As for HIV/AIDS, Uganda implemented a lot of what Bono is advocating for and they have slowed their infection rate while other countries continue to rise.

 

[europop2005]

he isn't trying to solve the crisises...but raise the awareness...how many times do you see the evening news...only to see a 5 minute story about africa overshadowed by a 20 minute story about sports...its sick how diminished the issue is in the self centered american media. Making the ONE campaign a public issue was his goal and he did it, organizing Live 8 during the G8 conference and forcing politicians to debate it was his goal and he did it. Yes it does take 10 minutes out of a U2 concert. But what are you losing from it? You still love them in the end and you come out with a little more knowledge and a little more hope. It is going to take years more to find a cure to AIDS. But with the money to build clinics, with the initiatives to build wells and to provide food water and shelter, and with international aid orginizations finally bringing this information into our homes he has well accomplished more then what most celeberity "activists" do by bitching and attacking politicians telling them they do nothing, while the celeberity does nothing him/herself. Bono has said he doesn't want to be known for Africa, he wants to be known for his music, but Africa is a persistant topic on his mind (and realize without him ever having gone to Ethiopia in the 80's, the Joshua Tree might have been a vastly different album, and Live Aid probably would have never happened) Gone are the days of Bono's Irish revolution speeches, thats a problem that like Africa eventually, has come down and healed itself, partly to people taking sides, looking each other in the eye, and the thousands of innocent bodies between them. I for one am a 100% supporter of Bono's activist work, I believe in him and I believe the speeches, and when he talks i'm not one of the people who want him just to get to the song. The man is passionate, the man puts all his heart and his words forth, and during the song it makes you think, it makes you realize that theres alot more heart in people. We live in a cruel world, our news is dominated with war, violence, terror, red states, blue states, bickering, fighting, divided lines...why do people have a problem when a rock star, not a politician accomplishes more with a 5 minute song then what politicians accomplish in their entire careers?

 

[JCOSTER]

I think he believes very much in what he is doing. Why else would someone spend so much off for the "causes" and away from family and friends when he could be lounging in the South of France?

I think it was the conversation he had with Bill Hybels, that he said, this was his calling, to help the noble people of Africa. From his religious aspect he feels as though this is the direction that God is leading him in to do service.

 

[redhotswami]

he has to. if he doesn't believe it will happen then it will definitely be reflected in his words/actions. if he doesn't believe in it than why should he expect us to?

plus, he has had personal experiences which have definitely left their mark on him. it is easy to come up with rhetoric and big ideas when you haven't been there. but he has. he has met and touched real people. they in turn have touched him, which is probably why he is so inspired to move forward.

it must be tough, to keep pushing yourself ahead on such an uphill battle. but the love he felt from his friends there is probably what continues to reenergize him.

 

[Aygo]

If the formula didn't result, if Bono was a real asshole about this... would he still be involved in these causes knowing that the press is starting slowly to bash him more and more and putting in danger U2's name? I guess not.
Those "make poverty history" and those speeches are just words, a way to get the message delivered, Bono wouldn't exactily say things that way, but he has to make people understand why he is involved.

Try to read something like "Bono By Bono", for instance. I believe that Bono really loves his causes and he won't give it up, because he believes in it.

 

[guill]

I'm sure that he believes in his fight to help SOME COUNTRIES which had to face difficulties on the CONTINENT called Africa.
He has a clear agenda :
- raising money to cure some emergencies (AIDS, Paludism, water, etc)
- push Western countries and private companies to build factories, to invest in these countries.

Not one then the other but both in the same time (Philanthropy + business)

It worked in his own country (don't forget that he saw his country changing very quickly thanks to EU money and a smart policy), it's going to work in Central and Eastern Europe, there is no reason it fails in some African countries if EU + US + Japan decide to make an effort.

He is not a dreamer, he has realistic goals and he is slowly working to accomplish them.

 

[J_NP]

No comments on these ..... U2man

 

[LMP]

Maybe because they're not funny and don't make any sense?

 

[Boom..Cha..Hey!]

europop2005, redhotswami

well said.

bono's experiences in africa cleary shaped him for the rest of the life. when u2 fans grumble about his speeches and his cause (and it really is singular at this point), it's as if they're trying to squelch the very thing that makes bono, bono — his PASSION.

if i ever had a chance to meet the man, i'd tell him thanks for giving a shit about people who have largely been forgotten by those in a position to help them.

 

[Val]

I think like the little engine that could. So does Bono. Try it U2 man. You just might accomplish something you though you couldn't.
Say it after me. I think I can, I think I can...

 

[U2girl]

I somehow doubt he' d be putting so much of his time (and putting up with the truckloads of bashing he's gotten for it) into this since 1998 if he didn't believe in the cause or think things can't be changed in his lifetime.

 

[Alisaura]

I think like the little engine that could. So does Bono. Try it U2 man. You just might accomplish something you though you couldn't.
Say it after me. I think I can, I think I can...

Exactly. Of course nothing will get done if no one believes it can be done. I always thought the whole point of the MPH campaign was to make people realise that it CAN be done.

I personally don't think Bono could be such a hypocrite as to NOT believe in the causes he campaigns for. And I think the reason he's been able to convince as many politicians (and the general public) as he has, is that he does truly believe it.

 

[indra]

I'm pretty sure he believes in the causes he supports. I think the big question is: do the solutions offered by the people and organisations he's backing work? That question is not so simple to answer.

 

[Chizip]

i think u2man is turning into mattfromnyc

 

[indra]

i think u2man is turning into mattfromnyc

u2man has a much better avatar though. How can you get mad at anything that adorable little puppy says?

 

[Laura M]

u2man has a much better avatar though. How can you get mad at anything that adorable little puppy says?

Puppies can be wicked with all that biting, scratching, tearing, mess....

Bono must believe in what he's doing. He's getting the message out there, he's making people aware of different issues, he's getting folk to listen. I think this is what he wants. With time, perhaps, in the future, change will come.

 

[AtomicBono]

great responses in this thread... don't know if i have much to add because I agree with most of what has been said - yes, he must believe in his cause, why else would he work on it for so long? you'd have to be a moron to think he's just doing it for attention considering how far back this goes in his life. he clearly really cares, and yes we hear the same quotes over and over, but that's because we watch/read everything bono is in, ever. the average person doesn't and will hear some of his quotes once, if lucky. it's like he said in U2 by U2 about when he wrote the repetitive little songs to educate the people. it was a small thing but it was his way of getting a message across and making a difference. well, in a way he's singing songs to the western world now, trying to get us to make a difference. if he didn't believe he would have given up years ago.

 

[U2Man]

i think u2man is turning into mattfromnyc

j_np, you picked the wrong dogs.

Val, don't assume anything you don't know about me. thanks.


regarding extreme poverty - that's a relative term like poverty, isn't it? i mean, even if all the people that are now said to be living in extreme poverty were taken out of that, the definition of extreme poverty would change, and a new group of people would be called extremely poor.

also, sometimes it seems that bono's causes are so changing that you wonder if he can really feel so much about them all of them. one minute he shouts wanker at chirac because of nuclear tests in the pacific. the next minute he eats dinner with him and gets a medal. is he suddenly no longer sorry for the poor people in the pacific that has to deal with the consequences of all the radiation?

 

[last unicorn]

U2Man, I think you should clearly listen to some of Bono's interview. Campaigning for Africa does not mean that he has to agree with everything politicians are doing. I think he made that clear. He's one of the most consequent people I have ever seen, he is really fighting for his causes and going his way despite of what many people think about him personally. No one would do this without being truly believing in what they're doing.

 

[Laura M]

also, sometimes it seems that bono's causes are so changing that you wonder if he can really feel so much about them all of them. one minute he shouts wanker at chirac because of nuclear tests in the pacific. the next minute he eats dinner with him and gets a medal. is he suddenly no longer sorry for the poor people in the pacific that has to deal with the consequences of all the radiation?

Politicians attract critcism and debate. I'm sure Bono can eat dinner with Chirac and still disagree with some of the things he does.

I'm the first to say that Bono can get on your nerves with all his rambling on but I've total respect for the bloke. He has real energy and he really seems to be very involved and know a lot about the causes he believes in.

 

[U2Man]

U2Man, I think you should clearly listen to some of Bono's interview. Campaigning for Africa does not mean that he has to agree with everything politicians are doing. I think he made that clear. He's one of the most consequent people I have ever seen, he is really fighting for his causes and going his way despite of what many people think about him personally. No one would do this without being truly believing in what they're doing.

i know that. and i've read bono on bono or whatever its called. but it just seems to me that there is a contradiction between playing the practical political game where you have to give and take and make compromises and truly believing in all your causes. i mean if he really felt chirac was wanker for what he has been doing, why have dinner with him? because it might help the african cause that he truly believes in? sure, but the people in the pacific exposed to radiation must wonder

 

[last unicorn]

I understand. But I think we have to try and understand Bono's side of things too. Genereally we live in quite a cynical and pessimistic society, I am a pessimist most of the time, too. Now if someone like Bono comes and says he believes in things and believes in people and that things can be changed for the better, he opens himself up for all kind of criticism and bashing. I think he may be a little too naive in his approaches and he is easily taken advantage of by politicians. But I think hat Bono only concentrates on the results and the achievements and in the end that should be the only thing that matters.
He simply cannot take on every single problem in the world. I think it would be even more upsetting and pathetic if he jumped on everything and was constantly protesting or campaigning for or against different causes.
There is a lot of shit going on in the world. We should not expect Bono to take on everything. He has made it very clear that Africa is his main concern.