Bono: Presidential Medal of Freedom
Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2025-01-04)
Bono. Just Bono. That’s how he was called when awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom today. Bono was one of 19 honorees today, awarded the medal by President Joe Biden. Others awarded the medal today include actors Michael J. Fox and Denzel Washington, athletes Magic Johnson and Lionel Messi, scientists Jane Goodall and Bill Nye, and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. The recipients of the awards were announced just hours before they were awarded.
Dressed in black, wearing a One pin on his lapel, Bono accepted the award with a smile on his face and cracking a joke when complete.
Bono was introduced, “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to Bono. As the lead singer of U2, one of the most successful rock bands in history, Bono changes the world through his art and activism. In an Irish tradition of poetry and protest, rebellion and rejoicing, he has composed anthems to peace and civil rights. As a humanitarian, he lifts up causes from ending poverty and disease, to calling for debt relief for developing nations. The common beat of his life’s work is the power of freedom, a tie that also binds Ireland and America as beloved friends.”
Biden placed the award around Bono’s neck, and Bono shook both of Biden’s hands at the same time after the award.
The medal is known as the United States’ highest civilian honour. The award is given to people who “have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.” One does not need to be an American citizen to win the award. Lionel Messi is Argentinian, Jane Goodall is British, both were awarded the medal today alongside Bono, although Messi was absent from the ceremony. The last Irish citizen to win the award was Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, who was given the award by Obama.
Bono contributed a piece to The Atlantic today as well where he speaks of Freedom. “The reason I am climbing on this slippery soapbox called “freedom” today is because I’m being given a presidential medal by that name—an honor I’m receiving mainly for the work of others, among them my bandmates and our fellow activists—and it’s got me thinking again about the subject.”
Throughout the piece, Bono discusses freedom through the years. From the sacrifices made in war by the generation ahead of him, to the messages in songs such as “I’m Every Woman” and “I’m Coming Out”. He speaks about going to Africa for an education in freedom. His work with President George W. Bush on PEPFAR, the Drop the Debt campaign with Bill Clinton, before turning his eyes to where we are today.
Although he did bring up the conflict between Israel and Gaza a number of times during performances at Sphere, his message calling for peace, and the end of hostilities seems to have not captured the attention of the media. Today’s piece in The Atlantic leaves little doubt:
And then there’s Gaza. Israel’s prime minister for almost 20 years, Benjamin Netanyahu, has often used the defense of Israel’s freedom and its people as an excuse to systematically deny the same freedom and security to the Palestinians—a self-defeating and deadly contradiction, which has led to an obscene leveling of civilian life that the world can visualize daily on their cellphones. Freedom must come for the Israeli hostages, whose kidnapping by Hamas ignited this latest cataclysm. Freedom must come for the Palestinian people. It does not take a prophet to predict that Israel will never be free until Palestine is free.Freedom is complex and demanding. It might even be a little dull, the work of freedom. Certainly the work of peacemakers is. I’ve witnessed it, and of course I don’t have the stamina for it. The fluorescent lights, the conference tables with plates of stale sandwiches, the late nights of hard work and of missing your families back home. In Ireland during the late 1990s, I wasn’t in those rooms, but we all held our breath as almost everyone gave up something they believed in for the cause of peace.
This stuff is complicated. I used to love a good rant about it. Shooting your mouth off before you knew anything was part of the attraction of rock and roll. I used to think that being heard was the most useful thing I could do, maybe because it was the only thing I really knew how to do.
The full text of Bono’s piece for The Atlantic can be read here.
In response to the award today Bono shared via U2’s social media channels, “Thank you President Biden. Frontmen don’t do humble, but today I was. Rock n roll gave me my freedom…and with it the privilege to work alongside those who’ve had to fight so much harder for theirs. And I want to give it up for my band mates – Edge, Adam, and Larry – without whom I would never have found my voice.”
The award today reminds us here that Bono has been campaigning for a better world for as long as he’s been doing the rock and roll thing. Early shows calling to dismantle Apartheid, or to support contraception in Ireland happened before the band even had an album out. The 1980s saw the band continue to protest apartheid, get involved in Special Olympics, Greenpeace and Amnesty International, as well as the start of Bono’s work in Africa. The 90s saw the band get involved in human rights for gays and lesbians, and the royalties from their single “One” were donated to AIDS research. Bono took that further in the 2000s starting organizations such as DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), (RED) and One. They’ve also looked to home and elsewhere where they have been involved in providing instruments and musical opportunities for children. Even the recent shows at Sphere have looked towards environmental issues.
And while these side projects can take considerable time, and have probably kept him out of the studio more than we would have liked at times, the work he has done has made a huge difference in the world, and has also inspired his fans to go out and make a difference themselves by joining organizations such as One, contributing to projects such as the African Well Fund and more. Bono’s work continues to inspire others to try to make things better. The team here at U2Songs are sharing their congratulations tonight for this award, and to say thank you for Bono’s years of work that got him to this award. It’s well deserved.
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