Why U2 doesn't suck

I thought it would be good to begin the opinionated b.s. with one of my biggest "mentors" - U2, or specifically Bono.
I was 10 the year Achtung Baby came out and it changed my life. Seriously. I still remember it vividly. My cousin (who just played drums with a band at Austin City Limits, my cousin's awesome) was driving my Mom to the store and I came along to sit in the back. I laid down in the "trunk" area of his hatchback while Achtung Baby blared at me through the speakers. Before this I listened to whatever Top 40 schlock the DJ's peddled on the radio. So U2 has always been very special to me.
On the most recent episode of South Park (which I still watch due to it's outlandish humor and interesting political commentary) they parodied Bono as being a piece of crap. Literally. Now I can certainly see where that would be amusing, but I really wasn't laughing. This isn't the first time I've heard this either. I've even had intensely heated debates on this topic.
Now I'm not stupid or blind, and I can see where people that hate U2 are coming from. However at this point in time, I think to say you hate U2 is to say you're not paying attention. Perhaps you hate them and think they're a wanna-be Clash, but you can't deny their politics. And if you deny their politics, you can't deny their music. Musically they have influenced rock music for three decades now, and generally end up on every Top 10 chart that is published. If nothing else, The Edge plays guitar in such an inspiring, impassioned way, I occasionally prefer him to Bono myself.
Politically they went from mocking presidents to sitting down with them in hopes of a better tommorrow. The Edge worked with Katrina effors, and Bono's humanitarian list spans the globe. It seems to only make sense to me that mocking him is a sign of jealousy. Remember high school? Yeh, like that.
And if you're jealous over something you should stop yourself and make yourself the best you can be. Which is why I don't believe in heroes. Make yourself the best, don't idol worship. But, if I were to idol worship, U2 would be at or near the top of my list.