I love that U2 is an equal partnership made of four guys who’ve known each other intimately for almost forty years now. After that length of time, you can get to know another person pretty well, and that includes every horrible, ugly, thing in their personality. People sometimes like to convince themselves that being best friends, or having a good marriage, means that you never argue. I guess that’s true if you’re entirely devoid of personality, but otherwise, not arguing means that you just don’t care. Disagreements do come up, and I know that the four guys in U2 represent four strong, uncompromising personalities who never back down or give in. I love Larry for bringing Bono back to Earth, just as much as I love Bono for giving Larry wings. I love Edge for always looking for new sounds and new ideas, new ways to approach old problems, just like I love that Adam knows if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Because of U2, I’ve learned that the best relationships are the ones that fill in for your weaknesses, the ones that let you be you while taking up the slack that “you” carries with it, while you do the same things for them. Instead of viewing this relationship for the restrictions it holds, these four guys see that together, the four of them are stronger than the sum of their parts, and that’s a valuable life lesson that U2 has taught me.