U2: Love to Power and The Power to Love

The Spirit of U2 and Their Fans
“Love is bigger than anything in its way.” -Bono, July 1, 2017, Cleveland, Ohio


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I have just spent six weeks with the music of U2, U2 fans, and a cross section of America. It has been like a six week spiritual retreat. A musical odyssey. —my own “musical journey” that spanned from Seattle to Miami. My internal systems have been re-wired in a good way by the music and its message. The U2 community you meet along the way is incredible. And hanging with the ministers of the music, night in and night out—-Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr...there are no words for that.

An experience like this turns you inside out...in a supremely good way. Couple that with being pushed to the brink with a terminal disease, and the disease seems like an afterthought. The body might be failing, but the spirit rises to the occasion and conquers whatever the physical malady might be. All of this has been my sanctuary the last six weeks.

The title of this essay Love to Power and The Power to Love takes the concept of “truth to power” up a few notches and is the essence of U2 and their music and actions. Speaking “truth to power“ basically means believing deeply in what you say and fighting every day to have your words heard. It may not be popular; it means taking a risk, it means standing for something. Love to Power is all of what truth to power is, and more...when it comes to U2. It is best summed up by Nelson Mandela in his autobiography The Long Walk to Freedom. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Mandela and U2 had a long connection, and the band was nominated for a Grammy for “Ordinary Love,” its contribution to the Long Walk to Freedom soundtrack.

You can’t walk away from a U2 show without being touched deeply by these words. A U2 show is a sanctuary of love...if you let it.

AJ HARTNETT, CANCER SURVIVOR

Read his wonderful Essay here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b08f5c97d069ed