What Planet Do You Live On?

U2: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Live in Paris (currently on HBO) is two and a half hours long. I have watched it twice, and loved every second of it. I first discovered U2 after the release of "Under a Blood Red Sky" which was recorded at Red Rocks. In thirty-two years, my love for the band and their music has not wavered. They have always stood in the forefront promoting peace and unity. Bono is a voice for anyone who believes that with humanitarian effort we can make a better world.  

I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes
And make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song
How long, how long...
'cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...

And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

(Excerpted lyrics from “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” written in 1983 by The Edge and honed by Bono.) 

 

 Video https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK34htyQpSSuCNX9zlAEagQ

This was U2's message thirty-five years ago and it is still as relevant today. Many thought these lyrics were about the killings in Northern Ireland, but they were written to depict world violence as it existed in the 1980s. The Paris concert, performed after the November 2015 terrorist attack, was so beautiful, powerful, and loving, and moved me to tears more than once. U2 has always affected me that way. In the second hour of the performance, a voice resonated throughout the arena with a message for global unity - "When we see Earth from Space, We see ourselves as a whole."

This observation may seem simplistic, but there is no denying the reality of it, and on the other hand, the denial by some people of this reality. We inhabit one planet, and we all belong to the species Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Our creator blessed us with physical differences: skin tone, hair color, body type, eye shape and color; traits that enabled human beings to survive and thrive in their land of origin correlating with latitude and sunlight. Improved methods of transportation gave us the ability to travel great distances across oceans and around the world, eventually resulting in the merger of cultures and ethnic groups. Strong genetic attributes began to diminish as cultures blended. This integration has continued for generations and we are becoming a whole. The more whole we become, the harder political and religious factions seek to segregate the people and destroy unity. When I look at a person, I look beyond their genetic make-up and religious beliefs. I look into their heart. The heart has nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. The goodness of a person has nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. You can be an evil person if you are Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. Evil is not dependent upon your faith, the part of the world you inhabit, or the style of clothing you wear.

Religion has been used to divide and conquer since its inception. During the Age of Discovery, the Catholic Churches of Spain, Portugal, and France sent missionaries to the New World(s) with the sole purpose of converting the indigenous people to Christianity. This Spiritual Conquest of North and South America continued for the next four centuries, resulting in the genocide of millions of Indigenous people. Christians worldwide, including those in America, are guilty of genocide and the subsequent displacement of the survivors.

My point is, to instill fear in Americans while proclaiming that America and Christians are an elite civilized society that must be protected from the rest of the world is a foolish deception. When I see the divisive tactics being used and the shameful propagation of xenophobia in the U.S., I sometimes feel like an alien who comprehends the concept of Earth as one small planet in a vast universe. A planet that should not be carved up and destroyed by religious fanatics or power hungry elitists. A planet that needs love. A planet that needs saving. I do not understand why so many cannot see the big picture. We humans have much to learn.

How long must we sing this song?