Doug Van Pelt

I love Bono

This guy is one of the good guys. He's normal. He's got a past. He's real. He's in love with people. He loves God and seems to take his faith seriously. He's done what each of us can do everyday -- take God seriously and do something about Him (and for Him by doing something for others).

I just finished watching a video of him (that was on itunes -- by the way, EVERYone needs to use iTunes. Make it a "favorite" in your browser. It's one company and one piece of software that integrates with the internet, your computer, and your portable devices. It's part of the future, and you just need to get familiar with it. Eventually, you'll be using something like it and familiar with it -- isn't now a good time?). Anyway, it was a recent NBC News interview with Brian Robertson (I might have destroyed his name) -- a 35 minute special filmed in Africa.

People are valuable. Think of your own life ending. Imagine if you were beat up and left for dead, and you saw people walking past you on the sidewalk, not bothering to stop and help; or you went and begged at someone's house -- someone who could help you and keep you from death. You would be passionate. You'd be desperate. If we value our own life, it shouldn't take too much brainwork to realize that everyone is special. EVERYone is valuable. We cannot afford to ignore people in need.

And the simple part is helping out is not always some huge thing. Sometimes it's very simple. And sometimes you get the blessing of making people happy. Sometimes you get the blessing of knowing that you've made God happy. Get your mind around that -- making God happy. That's some cool stuff. And there's something about love, too. Giving it away somehow touches it and applies its touch to us.

I'm glad to have U2's music. It touches me deeply. I'm glad that Bono is a good guy. I'm glad that he's good in a genuine way. Like a piece of classic leather, there's scratches, scars, and stains. But those give it character, and you wouldn't change the character for anything in the world.

I have every U2 album and I've seen the band many times live. But after this special tonight, if I was to meet him, I'd probably tear up, look him in the eye and just tell him, "Keep it up. What you're doing is so good." He's just a man, and there's many better, but he's doing something about inequality and I admire that. He inspires me.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at July 3, 2006 10:26 PM