Bono: World war more likely than at any point in my lifetime

U2's lead singer Bono claimed during a recent interview that the possibility of another world war breaking out is more likely now than at any point in his lifetime. 

“Nationalism is not what we need. We grew up in a very charged atmosphere in Ireland. It makes you suspicious of nationalism and those animal spirits that can be drummed up. This is me speaking about surrender, “Stories of Surrender,” at a time when the world has never been closer to a world war in my lifetime,” Bono said during an interview with The Associated Press (AP) that was published on Friday. 

Bono is at the Cannes Film Festival, where he will be premiering his Apple TV+ documentary “Bono: Stories of Surrender.” 

“At first I think it looks absurd, a bit ridiculous — now that has never stopped me in the past — but I think it’s OK to look ridiculous for these ideas,” he added. “ Like surrender, nonviolence, peace.” 

Bono, who has long been a proponent of globalization, said the increased interdependence among economies “did very well for the world’s poor.” 

“That and increased aid levels brought a billion people out of extreme poverty and halved childhood mortality — remarkable jumps for quality of life for human beings,” he told the news wire. 

“But it’s also fair to say certain communities really paid the price for that — here in Europe, in the United States. And I’m not sure those communities were credited enough for weathering storms that globalization brought,” the Irish singer said. “So I understand how we got to this place, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the right place to be in.” 

During the interview, Bono also praised the new Pope Leo XIV, who was elected as the first American-born pope in the history of the Catholic Church last week. 

“The new pope, he does look like a pope. That’s a good start. I just saw the other day his first piece and he was talking about stopping shouting, God might prefer whispers. I thought, “Oh, this could be interesting.” I’m more of a shouter myself,” Bono told the AP. “I come from punk rock. But I’m learning to turn that shout into a whisper in this film to get to an intimacy.”