can anyone help me with something?

[ikillz0mbies]

hey guys, i just signed up here. i introduced myself in the "intro" thread and asked this questioned there, but they told me to ask this question here. so here i go. i have a project which relates to u2 and politics.

so for my project, my group and i picked u2 and how they influence people in america to get involved with politics. i already did google searches to look for articles or polls but i came up empty. i was hoping you guys can help me out with maybe some info or stats about this. maybe i could even get your opinions on how u2 has affected you politically. thanks again for taking the time to read this. all answers will be greatly appreciated.

-ace

 

[2861U2]

Well I'm a believer in the separation of U2 and state

I guess I don't technically know what Bono's political views, but I would imagine I disagree with him. However, his campaigning has caused me to join the ONE Campaign and try to help out with that. I know Bono puts a ton of politics into music (Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day, Please, Bullet The Blue Sky, Pride). It appears that most people in this forum lean Democrat, so maybe most U2 listeners are Democrats?

Good luck, I wish I could help you more.

 

[yolland]

^ I was just going to say, I wonder if it might not make more sense to look at Bono's/U2's 'side projects' such as DATA, the ONE campaign, possibly their support for Amnesty USA, etc. By researching how exactly members of U2 have contributed to those causes, and what evidence there is that U2 fans in turn have thus been drawn to support them, you'd probably be able to make a case that U2/Bono have influenced many fans to place a higher priority on certain political issues, such as debt relief and AIDS, than they would have otherwise. "How U2 influences Americans to get involved with politics" may be a bit too broad and vague, IMO--I doubt you'd find much evidence that U2 as such make people more likely to vote, or to prefer some particular political party, for example.

 

[the iron horse]

Check out the Libertarian Party.

It seems to be the only political party in U.S. to have a platform based on the Constitution.



Good luck on your project!

 

[phillyfan26]

Check out the Libertarian Party.

It seems to be the only political party in U.S. to have a platform based on the Constitution.



Good luck on your project!

Not only was that post an absurd attempt to advertise your party and a completely baseless tagline with no fact ... it also relates in no way to the topic at hand. Well done.

Anyway, I agree with everything Yolland said: there in lies U2's greatest political impact.

 

[sue4u2]

Bono or U2 have never influenced me politically. Since I don't know them personaly or know where they stand - other than what has been expressed in their lyrics. Bono/U2 are not a decisive factor in how I vote in the US presidential elections.
I can say however, that since 1983 U2 has opened my eyes and mind to alot of issues that were happening outside the US and turned me on if you will, to other important issues.
and I don't care what anyone says - Bono is a force - not to be denied.

 

[ikillz0mbies]

thanks a lot for the suggestions you guys! i was hoping, maybe later on, i could do a poll, just to see if u2 has encouraged anyone to get involved or to vote.

 

[yolland]

That's fine, but I think you might do better to try that in Everything You Know Is Wrong, rather than here in Free Your Mind. You probably will get a higher proportion of unhelpfully 'jokey' responses over there, but on the other hand that is the 'general U2 discussion' area of the forum, so it gets more traffic, and probably also has a higher number of people who've personally been strongly influenced by U2 towards activism and so forth.

Up to you, though. Just make sure if you do do a poll that your question/options are worded specifically enough to give you the kind of information you want. I've had some of my students do projects involving online surveys before, and they almost invariably find that most people won't make the effort to offer usefully detailed or specific answers unless they spell out exactly what they're wanting to know.

 

[Irvine511]

yeah, i think most people who post in here with any frequency would be politically active and aware with or without U2.

 

[bgmckinney]

so for my project, my group and i picked u2 and how they influence people in america to get involved with politics. i already did google searches to look for articles or polls but i came up empty. i was hoping you guys can help me out with maybe some info or stats about this. maybe i could even get your opinions on how u2 has affected you politically. thanks again for taking the time to read this. all answers will be greatly appreciated.

-ace

I'd like to help but the question seems a bit too broad for me to know where to begin. Most of my friends have always been U2 fans - I'm twenty-eight and I've listened to the band since I was twelve - but I can only think of one instance in which someone I know changed their political views because of U2. And that had to do with Irish politics, not American politics. As for me, I have tremendous respect for Bono, but I often disagree with him politically.
I think people can get fired up when they go to a U2 show and hear Bono speak, and maybe for little while, in the high of the moment, they feel interest in a cause they might not otherwise have paid attention to. But I think as often as not that interest fades as the memory of the moment fades.
I think that most of U2's political influence comes through Bono, and most of Bono's influence is not exercised in public, but behind closed doors, as a lobbyist and organizer. It might work like this: U2 are popular, and so Bono has access to politicians, who respect his ability to be heard by the public. It's kind of indirect.