There was very little politicking and a lot of feel good talking at yesterday’s  Lincolm memorial concert, the exception being Bishop Robinson’s speech which was delivered before HBO went live, and this from Bono:

Let freedom ring! On this spot where we’re standing 43—46 years–ago Dr. King had a dream. On Tuesday, that dream comes to pass. This is not just an American dream it is also an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream… an Israeli dream. And also a Palestinian dream."

Bono can do this because well, he’s Bono, and he’s not from here. He and the band have a unique prespective having lived through–and played shows in the North during–the Northern Irish conflict. I traveled to see U2 play Belfast during the Joshua Tree tour, and there was um, some tension in Kings Hall during the set because of the unpredictable and dangerous nature of combatants. 

That night in Belfast, along wiht "Pride," U2 bravely played "Sunday Bloody Sunday," a song about the 1972 deaths of  27 civil right protesters –including 14 teenagers–(who were inspired by Dr King’s civil rights work) at the hands of British troops at a march in Derry. To see and hear U2 performing "Pride" at the Lincoln Memorial was a full circle for me, and while those remarks may not change actual policy, they do serve as reminder that peace can be achieved if we work towards that dream.