I became aware of the National Constitution Center a year earlier, when I read that William Jefferson Clinton and Gerge W. Bush were in town to receive the same honor for their philanthropic efforts in the preceding years. I had heard more police sirens than ordinary in my center city apartment and wondered what could possible cause that commition. After learning more about the award and the National Constitution Center, I immediately joined.

 During the course of the year, I participated in many learning activities; every Tuesday, there is usually someone of national prominence on a book tour; often, related to politics or how policy is set in one form or another. The evenings are always everything that I expect.

 When we moved to the suburbs, it was not always to easy to keep the Tuesday evening regimen. However, I found about about the date of the Liberty Medal event when I was offered the business opportunity to "bid" on the production of the event, through an alliance. When our bid was not accepted, I immediately researched the means to see this year’s ceremony where Bono and DATA would receive the supreme admiration for their efforts.

 It was a gentle occasion. Modest, conservative, reserved are all words which come to mind, atypically for an event with an Irish punk rocker. But reverent it was. The reverence was depicted in the brief acceptance speech that Bono gave in his remarks to the lively audience.

They were peppered with references to the origins of our great nation; from the bespeckled Benjamin Franklin who, "Franklin who wore John Lennon glasses before anybody…Franklin who went electric before Dylan, to Jefferson’s pen for the ‘opening lyrics of the constitution" to the closing words.

We were transformed from the references, which are prominently displayed on the outside wall of the building, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," to its ending, which reads, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

That was the part that touched me, that continues to resonate with me, and causes me to question my daily concerns. What have I done to protect the sacred honor of those who came before us; what are we doing to assure that people are free.

In his acceptance speech, Bono said, "Let me set my foot here, and say to you tonight this is my country. Let me say, with humility and pride in my own country, let me say, America is my country. In a sense, that anyone who has a stake in liberty has a stake in the United States of America.

For all that you've been through - good and bad - this is my country, too. For everytime I wince, or gasp or punch a wall when I read something that galls, I am reminded of your resilience, your compassion….

"…Today as you pin this great honor on me, as an Irishmen who has seen these close up, I ask you and implore 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 has taken a walk on the moon because he can, where so many Irish people discovered their values; died for freedom at places like Omaha Beach and in the pacific; Your America gave Europe the Marshall Plan: your America gave the world the Peace Corp…"

While Bono and others of international fame use their notoriety to bring attention to the problems in third world countries, what about those neighborhoods in the United States which share those same levels of poverty – that same lack of freedom.

What am I doing to assure the idea of freedom which Bono refers to in my community, where perhaps, I could make a difference. "None of us are truly free. Our sacred honor might be at stake; that and a whole lot else. So, what then? Are we willing to pledge? How about your science, your technology, your creativity, our compassion? America has so many great answers to offer," he added. "We can't fix all the world's problems, but the ones we can, we must."

So, when the phone is ringing, your "team" of fellow employees, board members, volunteers, your associate artists are knocking at your door, with what you deem to be inane tasks, think about the big picture. Think about where you will devout your sacred honor this week. How will you pledge your life, your liberty which those who came before us, what will you do to make a difference this week?

No act is too small nor too powerful. Reach for the stars, what do you have to lose? Your sacred honor could make a huge difference in your world.

Or better yet, your sacred honor – are you getting out to vote?

Listen to Bono's speech in its entirety. Liberty Medal