Their day jobs as rock stars have made them fabulously wealthy.
That’s held against them by people who think the President’s net worth is a sign of his virtue.
But Springsteen and U2 are also liberation theologians. That might sound like an unhinged thing to say about 5 wealthy white men, but their origins on margins have never been far from their chief concerns or best work.
I suppose instead of calling them liberation theologians, I could say they’re Christians who understand a lot about what the message of Jesus really was.
I don’t know what they do with their wealth, and perhaps that’s a good conversation to have. But I do know what they do with their platform and their public witness.
For some, high ticket prices and half-a-billion-dollar catalogues are disqualifying planks in the eye, but again, most folks saying that don’t blush at the gutting of Medicaid, the defunding of schools, the evaporation of food stamps.
So, I mean, they’ve got some planks in their eyes, too, don’t you think?
I love this song from U2’s new Days of Ash EP.
Chris Cocca 