When I claim that Bono hasn’t sacrificed his character, I use the term “character” knowing that neither I nor most of the people that listen to U2 truly “know” Bono’s character.  But we can observe how he acts in public and the things that he says publically.  We can look to his personal habits (which are public by default) and his behavior off the stage.  I’m not trying to say that there’s nothing bad about the man.  We simply don’t have many examples of Bono publically cheating on his wife, or getting drunk and punching someone in the face while claiming that the Jews and gays secretly run the world, or really much of anything that we traditionally associate with rock stars.

We do have examples of the opposite.  The very first thing that I like to enlighten people about (and I know it’s cheesy, but it does contribute greatly to the positive image that Bono generally has) is that Bono has been with the same woman, Ali Hewson (née Stewart), since he was 14 years old.  Of course he has dedicated numerous songs to his wife, which isn’t anything new for an artist or writer to do, but the very fact that their relationship has been so long lasting makes those songs that much more affecting.  Of course, it’s not just the relationship with his wife that is important, but the things that they have dedicated their lives to as a couple.  Ali Hewson has been right next to her husband for a good chunk of his philanthropic work.

And it’s the philanthropic work that concerns the last of our Reasons to Love Bono.  As far as I can tell, Bono has advocated on behalf of the poor of every major continent save for Antarctica and Australia.  I don’t think that there is anyone in the world that is aware of Bono yet unaware of his philanthropy, but it bears repeating that he has co-founded at least four different charitable organizations on behalf of Africa alone.  He has participated in countless other fund raisers and awareness campaigns such as Band Aid, Live Aid, and all of the other “Aids” (no pun intended…really, I promise) you could possibly think of.  He’s received awards from the NAACP, the Government of Chile, and the Government of Portugal, among others, and he has been knighted by the Queen.

Of course, he’s a celebrity, so we really shouldn’t give him too much credit, right?  Some very influential and intelligent people have made the argument that organizations need to begin helping Africa help itself and that Africa has the ability to do good things for itself, but that celebrity humanitarians get in the way by simply throwing money at the problem.  One could also argue that celebrities like Bono are used as window dressing by G8 countries in an attempt to appear as though these governments are actually concerned about third world poverty.  Meeting with Bono is good P.R. and doesn’t really commit them to any real change.

It could be argued that Bono is taking the easier path as well.  He’s doing the safe thing by meeting with people he knows will contribute something, even if that something is meager.  And most people who hear of Bono’s philanthropy will consider it another reason to support his band, although there is no logical reason to do so.  After all, people generally feel better spending their money on things they view as “good” or “positive” or “useful,” as opposed to things that they know will hurt people.  In this light, Bono’s exploits are nothing but cool, calculated business moves designed to generate more cash flow.

To read the exciting conclusion of this Apologia Pro Vita Bono, click here!