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Bono's
Liberty Medal Acceptance Speech Transcript
Won’t take long. I’m the
Fidel Castro of speechifying. We’ve got a few hours, don’t we?
Right. Thank you. Thank you Mr. President. (George H.W. Bush) Thanks Joe.
(Joseph Torsella, President and CEO, National Constitution Center) and
everyone here at the National Constitution Center. It's an inspiring place. In
the words of Robert Zimmerman - Bob Dylan – "ring those bells…ring
those bells."
I want to thank my wife, Ali. And I also want to thank the members of U2 for not
firing me when they hear I'm in Philadelphia this evening because they're in the
studio expecting me, and I know they won't fire me because it is Philadelphia
and we've played everywhere here. From 70 people to 70,000 people here. An
important city for the U2ers, as well as these both Live 8 concerts which really
turned my life upside down.
I've got 5 minutes to talk and I can spend that doing the shout-outs, but I want
to thank Ngozi. (Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria
and current member of DATA's Policy Advisory Board) Really for what she
said, for what she is and for what she does. This is the kind of leader we all
want to work for. This is the reason we in DATA do what we do. We love you dear.
I must tell you it's a bit humbling for me to be here where it all got started.
Where America got started. Because along with a mayor, a governor, a former
president, and so many others that served the cause of freedom while I, it has
to be said, have served the cause of my own ego. President Bush, you may
remember that when you were in office in 1992 and U2 was touring America, I used
to do this bit every night in the show where I would bring a phone out and I'd
ring you up at the White House. You never took my calls, Sir. You had far too
much sense. That's the truth. Now your son, he did not have your sense. He not
only took my call, he had me over to lunch. And then I wouldn't leave. I think
he’s been regretting it ever since because when I come over to the house, I'm
not exactly what you call "house trained" - even White House trained.
I'm not exactly what you call a good guest either. I can be rude and I ask for
things before we even sit down for tea, like billions of dollars to fight AIDS
in Africa. Things like that.
I’d like to think that I’ve always left the White House with more than I
arrived. Not only budget commitments, cutlery, silverware, candelabras, one or
two Bush family photos, -OK one Gilbert Stuart portrait…of George Washington;
it was in the bathroom – nobody could see, I’ll give it back.
I have to say that people took risks in working with us. And want to say that
current President Bush was not only gracious, he was passionate. Passionate
about doing more for the poorest of the poor, and smart enough to know that he
wasn’t just letting a rock star run amok with his staff. He knew that DATA,
the organization being honored tonight, was bursting with energy. Filled to the
brim with the best and the brightest people – policy people, campaigners, I
salute you. Your servant. (bows)
Still, it is risky working with rock stars, children, animals. People we
wouldn’t have expected had us in their offices again and again hammering out
new initiatives, like the Millennium Challenge Account, which rewards poor
countries that were tacking corruption. And, like Ngozi was talking about, was
looking for investment, you know aid as investment. And we also worked with
President Bush on a historic AIDS initiative where now I can tell you that
it’s not just one million that you heard about, it’s now one-and-a-half
million Africans who owe their lives to the two pills a day that they receive
from the United States of America. It’s a great thing.
I might add that this can only happen because in Congress, heroic Democrats and
Republicans put down their politics and put in their political capital to make
things happen for people who don’t have a vote. And it couldn’t have
happened without the leadership of president number 43, but number 42 as well. I
just had the pleasure of telling William Jefferson Clinton, whom you travel with
so much, that thanks to his and other G8 leaders supporting debt cancellation,
and as a result of inspired African leadership, there are now as you heard
earlier, and I can confirm it, 20 million African children going to school that
wouldn’t be otherwise. Twenty million African children – WOW! That’s worth
shouting about. That’s the America I love.
And that’s why I’m so honored to be here to receive this award – a punk
rocker from the north side of Dublin. An organization that until very recently
had its data in haversacks and had its office in Kinkos around the corner. No, I
want to thank the organization and people like our instigator and part-time
flame thrower, Bobby Shriver and Jamie Drummond who’s sitting there who are
something special. Jamie, if you’ve noticed, Jamie and I have accents. Subtle.
We come from “over there” across the water. But we’re over here because
we’re fans of America. And, in that sense, we’re no different than the
two-and-a-half million Americans who have now joined the ONE Campaign which
began its life in this great city of Philadelphia in 2004 right in front of
Independence Hall. We’re fans of America.
I’m also a fan of Benjamin Franklin. Which I noticed earlier – Franklin who
wore John Lennon glasses before anybody, before they were cool. Franklin who
went electric before Dylan. Franklin who said, as you heard earlier, God grant
that not only the love of liberty, but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man
may pervade all the nations of the Earth so that a philosopher may set his foot
anywhere on its surface and say “this is my country.” Well, in case you
hadn’t heard, I am not a philosopher, I am a rock star, though after a few
pints, this rock star starts thinking he’s a philosopher.
So, not a philosopher, but let me set my foot here and say to you tonight this
is my country. With humility and pride in my own country, let me say America is
my country in the sense that anyone who has a stake in liberty has a stake in
the United States of America. For all you’ve been through, good and bad, this
is my country too. For every time I wince, or gasp or punch the wall, when I
read something that galls, there’s another time I’m reminded of your
generosity, your resilience, your innovation, your work ethic, your compassion.
Although today, today I read in The Economist an article reporting that over 38
percent of Americans support some kind of torture in exceptional circumstances.
My country – NO! Your country – tell me no. (Crowd answers back “no”)
Thank you.
Today as you pin this great honor on me, I ask you – I implore you as an Irish
man who has seen some of these things close up, I ask you to remember you do not
have to become a monster to defeat a monster. Your America is better than that.
Your America is the one where Neil Armstrong takes a walk on the Moon because he
can. Your America is the one where so many Irish people discovered their value.
Your America is the one where a brave military fought and died for freedom in
places like Omaha Beach, and in the Pacific, where president number 41 here –
a true World War II war hero served. Your America gave Europe the Marshall Plan.
Your America gave the world the Peace Corps, JFK, RFK, MLK, the Special
Olympics, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen
– the bard and the boss – Steve Jobs, local hero Will Smith, the meditations
of Mark Rothko, the poetics of Allen Ginsberg, Edward R. Murrow, Miles Davis,
Quincy Jones, Mary J. Blige, Frank Gehry, of thee I sing, all of thee.
Hey, these are the reasons I’m a fan of America – and one more. America is
not just a country. It’s an idea, isn’t it? It’s a great and powerful
idea. The idea that all men are created equal. That “we are endowed by our
creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.” These are great lyrics, Mr. Jefferson. Great
opening riff. The Declaration of Independence has a great closing line too –
“we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred
honor.” Well the men who made that, the men who signed that pledge, had a lot
to lose by signing - like their lives. So what then about you and me? What are
we ready to pledge? What are we ready to pledge ourselves to? Anything? Anything
at all?
What about this idea of liberty? Not liberty for its own sake, but liberty for
some larger end – not just freedom from oppression, but freedom of expression
and worship. Freedom from want, and freedom from fear because when you are
trapped by poverty, you are not free. When trade laws prevent you from selling
the food you grow, you are not free. When you are dying of a mosquito bite for
lack of a bed net, you are not free. When you are hungry in a world of plenty,
you are not free. And when you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from
entering a temple because of your gospel of peace, it is an affront to the thug
regime, well then none of us are truly free.
My other country, America, I know you’ll not stand for that. So, look I’m
not going to stand here, a rock star who just stepped off a private plane, and
tell you to put your lives on the line for people you’ve never met or your
fortunes – I haven’t. But our sacred honor might just be at stake here. That
and a whole lot else. So what, then, are we willing to pledge? How about our
science, your technology, your creativity…America has so many great answers to
offer. We can’t fix all the world’s problems. But the ones we can, we must.
Enough of my voice. Listen to the voice of young Africa. Good night.
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