Notes from a fan

Me, I'm in love with this country called America.
I'm a huge fan of America,
I'm one of those annoying fans,
you know the ones that read the CD notes
and follow you into bathrooms
and ask you all kinds of annoying questions
about why you didn't live up to that.
I'm that kind of fan.  

I read the Declaration of Independence
and I've read the Constitution of the United States,
and they are some liner notes, dude.
As I said, yesterday I made my pilgrimage to Independence Hall,
and I love America because
America is not just a country, it's an idea.
You see my country, Ireland,
is a great country, but it's not an idea.

America is an idea,
but it's an idea that brings with it some baggage,
like power brings responsibility.
It's an idea that brings with it equality,
but equality even though it's the highest calling,
is the hardest to reach.

The idea that anything is possible,
that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America.
It's like hey, look there's the moon up there,
lets take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it.
That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of.

           Bono, 2004 University of Pennsylvania Commencement Address