“America’s not a country, America’s an idea!” Interestingly enough, when Bono yells these words through his megaphone as more and more bullets are flying through our red, white and blue skies, he’s sitting comfortably behind his barricade of wealth. I can see his private planes red, orange glow, as I’m running scared in the valley below, known as America. Thanks for the great life, indeed! Bono’s earned that life and I do not begrudge him one bit for living it. Hell, I paid him those 500 pounds decades ago, like most of you did. But is the America that Bono and the boys fell in love with back in the day, the same America of today? Not by a long shot! Oh sure, we talk lovingly about those words written on the lady with the lamp: “Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,” but are those words meaningless today? How about Bono’s words during Bullet?

Let’s take a look:

And I try to tell the young man
That ideas deserve a plan- (If the plan is to continue to pile up our national debt over 20 Trillion, then you need a new plan.)

And to build a better world

Gonna take every woman and man-(Since only about 50 % of the electorate actually votes, what should happen to the rest?)

Its gonna take you, and me

The reds and the greens- (Not the blacks or browns, however-America is as divided as it’s ever been when it comes to race)

The nows and the evers and the yet to bes- (Abortionists vs. Planned Parenthood: Another great divide)

The where you goin’?
The where you been?

The living and the dead and the unseen-(Statistics say that organized religion and faith of the unseen are at an all time low in our country)

The somebodies, the nobodies

The who’s who, the gentile and the Jew-(Good luck getting those two groups united and on board with this “Plan?”)

The gays and the straights- (Nobody won means that everyone won-unless you’re trying to get a marriage license from that nut in Kentucky.)

The sevens and the eights
The nines and the tens-(Once again, the 7’s, 8’s, 9’s & 10’s are mentioned. In other words, the top 1 %. What about the rest of us slobs?)

The dollars and the yen (Stock market roller coaster rides, pension reform, taxes: What does the dollar and yen look like again?)

I feel like a fraud
But I know that I’m not
I try to do my very best with everything that I’ve got
Which is not a lot
I’m telling ya [???] Which is not a lot
Trying to step, get caught
And trying to not get caught

With my pants down-(With today’s 24/7 news coverage and internet access, there’s a better chance of you getting caught with your pants down than up.)

And my hands up
And my hands up (Actually, being a middle class, middle age white guy, this line doesn’t really refer to me.)

Any second now things are going to erupt-(What’s the over/under in weeks before someone erupts and does another mass shooting? November 1st? Sad!

So I run
I run
Into the arms
Of America-(Is it infinitely better anywhere else?)

Is it getting any better?
Or do you feel the same….where you live?
America is an idea, but ideas change, adapt and evolve over time. America needs to change, adapt and evolve in order to deal with all these issues.

Like we’re watching U2, the world is watching us.

We can be better.

We have to be better!