Bono received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden at the White House Saturday at a ceremony that also honored Denzel Washington, Michael J. Fox, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and more.
“Thank you President Biden. Frontmen don’t do humble, but today I was,” Bono wrote on social media after receiving the medal.
“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.”
Additionally, to mark receiving the U.S.’s highest civilian honor, the singer penned an op-ed for The Atlantic where he wrote about the connection between music and the pursuit of freedom.
“Freedom is a word that turns up with embarrassing frequency in rock-and-roll songs,” Bono wrote, naming Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” as one notable example.
“The reason I am climbing on this slippery soapbox called ‘freedom’ today is that 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. When we rock stars talk about freedom, we more often mean libertinism than liberation, but growing up in the Ireland of the 1960s, the latter had its place too. We were mad for freedoms we didn’t have: political freedom, religious freedom, and (most definitely) sexual freedom.”
“Rock and roll promised a freedom that could not be contained or silenced, an international language of liberation. The freedom songs of the folk singers went electric, the coded messages of gospel music burst into the full flower of funk and soul. Even disco promised emancipation,” Bono wrote. “In U2, we wanted our song ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ to sound like the freedom we were campaigning for in our work with Amnesty International. That’s how insufferable we were.”
In honouring Bono, the White House recognized “the frontman for legendary rock band U2 and a pioneering activist against AIDS and poverty. He brought together politicians from opposing parties to create the United States PEPFAR AIDS program, and is co-founder of campaigning organizations ONE and (RED).”
Other recipients at the White House Saturday included Hillary Clinton, Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, soccer star Lionel Messi, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, George Soros, designer Ralph Lauren, chef Jose Andres, and conservationist Jane Goodall.
“President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else,” the White House said in a statement Saturday. “These nineteen individuals are great leaders who have made America and the world a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.”
From Rolling Stone US
