In February 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero, teacher and Catholic priest of liberation theology, published an open letter to President Carter pleading with him to stop the military aid.

Not unaware of the human rights violations and atrocities happening in El Salvador and throughout Central America, Carter continued to approve the funding and support of these dictatorships. Sadly, during this tumultuous time, the United States President Jimmy Carter was providing support to the Salvadoran military. In the rural areas of El Salvador the landed elites created and funded paramilitary death squads composed of civilians that were autonomous from the Salvadoran military until they were taken over by El Salvador’s military intelligence service led by Major Roberto D’Aubuisson, thus becoming a critical part of the government’s repressive regime murdering thousands of union leaders, activists, students, teachers, and priests. Repression continued after the inauguration of President Romero, declaring a state-of-siege and suspending civil liberties. The sitting government at the time of this protest blamed it on foreign Communists. It was estimated that between 200 and 1,500 civilians were killed.

On February 28, 1977, a group of demonstrators gathered in downtown San Salvador to protest the election fraud, but were met with security forces that opened fire on both protestors and bystanders. La Matanza reinforced the people’s distrust and animosity toward the government, military, and the landed elite.įast forward through decades of more unrest and uprisings to the late 1970s when Salvadoran President General Carlos Humberto Romero intimidated voters with machetes during the election causing massive demonstrations to protest the election. In return, the government brutally suppressed the uprising in what is simply known as the “La Matanza” (“The Massacre”), with the military murdering between 10,000 and 40,000 people. In 1932, the Central American Socialist Party was formed and led an uprising of peasants and indigenous people against the government. This resulted in landed elite versus the poor scenario. In the years leading up to Bono’s visit to El Salvador, the country had been embroiled in decades of unrest which started after the stock market collapsed in 1929 when the price of coffee drastically dropped. It was during a trip to El Salvador and Nicaragua that Bono’s political awareness of global social injustice and human rights violations became greatly awakened. Maybe because I knew a little history behind the song, and, now, I think it’s time that more people become educated on the meaning and background of this classic.ĭuring the mid-80s, U2’s political awareness was growing through Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence, preforming relief concerts like Live Aid, and going on trips to Africa and Central America. It was and is what a Trump presidency sounds like to me. It was the only song that came to mind the night Trump was elected. “Bullet the Blue Sky” is one of my favorite U2 songs. It is one of U2’s most overtly political songs, and when they perform it live they usually do so in a manner that is heavily critical of political conflicts and violence making the Fallon performance timely.

I know many people poke fun at U2’s egos, but no matter how much you may disagree with or dislike Bono and the band’s political views you have to give them this, their hearts are in the right place and their intentions are noble.įor years they have spoken out against oppression and social injustice, whereas Jimmy Fallon has been ignorantly invading television screens across America by not speaking out against Trump like other late night show hosts have (Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Cobert, Trevor Noah, and Seth Meyers), and U2’s performance of a Trump-centered “Bullet the Blue Sky” was just what was needed and they deserve respect for speaking out against the Demagogue-in-Chief. I have even “unfriended” a person on Facebook for lambasting Bono in a comment thread on a personal post. Don’t get me wrong, there have been moments of disappointment like Zooropa and Pop, and even the controversial blight that is Age of Innocence, but I have still remained faithful to Bono and the boys. Since the age of 10 when I first heard “Angel of Harlem” from their 1988 album Rattle and Hum, I have been a huge fan. Then, there was U2’s appearance a couple of weeks ago that did nothing to change my opinion of Fallon, but it was much needed for a show that lacks political backbone catering to viewers who are equally indifferent. It hasn’t always been this way, but since that infamous night when he let candidate Donald Trump off the hook without asking political questions while having a discussion that made Trump look more “human” than he actually is was the night my opinion of Fallon changed.

Bullet the blue sky