Bono quote? please please please help?

Question

"Theres the country of America, which you have to defend, but theres also the idea of America. America is more than just a country, its an idea. An idea thats supposed to be contagious"

what does bono mean, [in your opinion?]

Answer 1

It's not the sovereign government of America that matters so much as the ideals that it stands for.  In my humble opinion, some of those ideals are: individual rights, freedom of press, religion, assembly, property rights, equal opportunity, participatory government, humanitariansm, using leadership for good.  If we have a government that does not promote and protect these ideals, then it's not a government worth protecting.  On the flip side, if we have a government that does promote and protect these ideals, let's promote the ideals, not the government.