Last week, Bono was awarded the Liberty Medal for his tireless humanitarian work in Africa. Well done and well-deserved. But ironically, part of his acceptance speech was censored. Here's what he actually said: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 I read in the Economist an article reporting that over 38 percent of Americans support some type of torture in exceptional circumstances. My country? No. Your country? Tell me no. Today, when I receive this great honor, I ask you, I implore you as an Irishman 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’s better than that.
However, the first version of the official transcript and video was a little different:
"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. 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..."
In the first "official" version, the part about Americans supporting torture was edited out. Now it appears that it's been added back into the transcript and video, but only because someone caught it and blew the whistle. Given that Bono was receiving something called "the Liberty Medal", it's ironic and more than a little chilling that his speech would be censored. Obviously in Bush's America "liberty" doesn't extend to criticism of administration policies.
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