Gee, Michael, I don't think we have much in common. You seem to disapprove of everything I believe or say. I don't think that in this case your arguments are logical, however.
First of all, the whole point of using the F word in that poem is that what happened to that 3-year-old was absolutely obscene. It certainly wasn't used to get you all excited or something!!!
Secondly, the poem was never on a record. It was something Bono wrote while he was on tour, thinking of reading it on stage. So it is illogical to argue that it was used to make money in any way. U2 does make a lot of money from their music, but they live fairly modestly by rock star standards, and donate a lot of it to causes they support. The tour would have actually lost money, mostly because of the enormous expense of carrying such a huge stage set around, and their policy of not accepting sponsors because they don't want their ability to express their feelings in their art compromised by commercial interests, except that 30,000,000 U2 t-shirts were sold. They ended up just above break even!!!
The actual story behind the Iraqi war is much more interesting than your flag-waving one. President Bush was way behind in the polls, and needed a miracle to win the election. He and his advisors concocted a plot to start a war. Saddam was signalled repeatedly through diplomatic channels that we would look the other way if he took over Kuwait. He fell for the trap, and we invaded. I think most Americans are unaware of the carnage there. Between 100,00 and 200,000 Iraqi soldiers--terrified conscripts, young men with families--were buried alive in the desert by the fury of our response. Our smart bombs were not! Research now shows they were terribly inaccurate, but the patriots were pretty pleased by them at the time. Bush made a big deal about trying to take Saddam out, but in reality it was a deliberate policy decision to leave him there, in case Bush had to invade Iraq again before the election to get even more votes. And our subsequent embargo of Iraq has caused the death by starvation and disease of many babies and children, total innocents. Are you still waving your flag?? I'm certainly not; I'm really ashamed.
Oh, I also think it's interesting that you think environmentalists and anti-nuclear power advocates are whackos!!!! Without the earth, we have absolutely nothing. Thank the goddess some people care more than you do.
Go with Pan!!! Blessed be!!!
Christine |
