[patsylimerick]

with thanks to Blozor

The other thing Bono is most criticized for is his charity work. If there's one thing middle class Americans can't seem to understand it's the ability to care about other people who are not, specifically, themselves. The main complaint I tend to hear is that people resent Bono for asking them to give up any of their money for these causes when Bono is, himself, rich. Apparently, the rich are obligated to donate their entire earnings to the poor so that the middle class can continue donating nothing but their arrogant indifference.

Everyone cites how much Bono and U2 are roughly worth, which are figures available to the public, but no one seems to note donations that Bono or the band makes to charity, particularly because there is no real quantifiable evidence. This is because the band demands their donations be kept private, which is how donations are supposed to be made, modestly. If someone flaunts their donation, they're doing it for vanity or recognition. However, when the president of Amnesty International or Careflight says U2's donation was "sizeable," I'm sure they're not just bull****ting us.

The problem with the argument is that Bono could donate his entire net worth to charity, and it would still only make a dent in the campaign, and then Bono would be just as poor as the people he's trying to help. Everyone would regard it as an amazingly stupid move, despite it's pretty much what everyone wants to see him do right now, and he would lose his political clout because no one would respect his judgment anymore. It's easier to ask hundreds of millions of people to give dollars than it is for one person to give several million dollars. It'd be easier to write a check and be done with it; it costs a lot more to give your time for upwards of three decades now. The next time you're brandishing Bono a hypocrite for preaching charity while being rich, ask yourself how much money you've donated to charity lately. Even if Bono donated nothing but his time, it'd still be far more than the majority of his detractors have donated, so shut the **** up.