BONO and UNBEARABLE CHOICES

[Jamila]

Hey PLEBA!

In all our excitement with Bono's appearance in Germany this week and with his designation as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2004, we overlooked one thing: Bono's OWN piece in that Time issue on Aung San Suu Kyi!

If you want to check out the whole piece by Bono, then go to the Time mag website to see it, or if you purchase a copy of Time, then it is on page 132, right under the piece on Nelson Mandela!EXCELLENT!

Here are some excerpts:
"It's hard not to become a monster when you are trying to defeat one. Aung San Suu Kyi is the moral leader of Myanmar, the country more correctly known as Burma. She has been, in effect, under house arrest since 1989....

Suu Kyi's peaceful bloody-mindedness is driven by courage, but her captors' bloody bloody-mindedness is driven by fear - fear of losing the business they are running for themselves.

Suu Kyi is a real hero in an age of phony phone-in celebrity, which hands out that title to the most spoiled and underqualified. Her voice of reason makes the world look noisy, mad:it is a low mantra of grace in an age of terror, a reminder of everything we take for granted and just what it can take to get it....

U2 wrote the song WALK ON to honor this amazing woman who put family second to country....
Suu Kyi, with an idea too big for any jail and a spirit too strong for any army, changes our view - as only real heroes can - of what we believe
to be possible. The jury is still out on whether we deserve the faith she has put in us...."

A BEAUTIFUL, BRILLIANT TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE REAL LIVING HEROES IN OUR WORLD BY ONE OF OUR WORLD'S REAL HEROES!

I guess it takes one to know one. BLESS YOU, BONO!

 

[Jamila]

Oh - I forgot. Bono entitled his tribute "Unbearable Choices". PLEASE go read the full piece.

PEACE AND LOVE.

 

[Katey]

thats Bono for you.. he really does amire her as I do.. To put country or anything before family is a difficult difficult thing to do and it's one of the biggest sacrifices you can make..

I love Bono's way with the written word.. very poetic

The jury is still out on whether we deserve the faith she has put in us

Yep ..

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I think you have to be a Time subscriber to read it on their web site

Maybe someone has it and could transcribe it

Thanks for the info Jamila

 

[BAW]

I knew my Time subscription would pay off someday!

By BONO, rock star and human rights activist

Setting Free "The Lady"
Aung San Suu Kyi is released after six years of house arrest. But how far will her freedom go? [7/24/1995]


It's hard not to become a monster when you are trying to defeat one. Aung San Suu Kyi is the moral leader of Myanmar, the country more correctly known as Burma. She has been, in effect, under house arrest since 1989.

Why? First, because of the military juntas who came to power in a bloody coup in 1962, and have been running the country with a truncheon ever since. Second, because of us. There has been no real roar against these human rights abusers, just the odd bark. Yet even single-party democracies check their mail. They're not just muscle; they're vain. Even juntas measure just how many boos and hisses they can get away with. Suu Kyi's peaceful bloody-mindedness is driven by courage, but her captors' bloody bloody-mindedness is driven by fear ? fear of losing the business they are running for themselves.

Suu Kyi is a real hero in an age of phony phone-in celebrity, which hands out that title freely to the most spoiled and underqualified. Her quiet voice of reason makes the world look noisy, mad; it is a low mantra of grace in an age of terror, a reminder of everything we take for granted and just what it can take to get it. Thinking of her, you can't help but use anachronistic language of duty and personal sacrifice.

U2 wrote the song Walk On to honor this amazing woman who put family second to country, who for her convictions made an unbearable choice ? not to see her sons grow and not to be with her husband as he lost his life to a long and painful cancer. Suu Kyi, with an idea too big for any jail and a spirit too strong for any army, changes our view ? as only real heroes can ? of what we believe to be possible. The jury is still out on whether we deserve the faith she has put in us.

Walk On won record of the year at the Grammys, a very proud moment. But in front of an audience of millions, I did what I've begged others not to do. I forgot to say thank you to the woman in front of the song. Thank you.

 

[Jamila]

THANKS, Bono's American Wife!

It IS a BEAUTIFUL tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi - you can FEEL Bono's Love and Respect for her in his words.

Thanks for being so kind and supportive, dear friends - just the kind of behavior U2 and Bono would want from us.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY! DON'T LET IT GET AWAY!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

That's beautiful

As usual he's so eloquent

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Great piece.

I particularly like the ending part...he feels bad about forgetting to thank her on stage for her inspiration, so he's making it up by doing it here! .

Bono's so cool. Seriously.

Angela

 

[kellyahern]

Thank you for posting that

 

[U2Kitten]

Thanks for posting, Char's subscriptions help PLEBA again!

 

[valentina]

Yeah!! I like the article and, moreover, the fact Suu Kyi has not been left behind!
The fact "Time" is dealing with this, help us hoping for the best!
At least, lot of people will know that the situation is still the same -- and maybe someone will start asking "what can I do?"
Great! Thanks a lot for the post, Jamila