Cardozo Law to honor Paul McCartney for peace, which is fab

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Cardozo Law to honor McCartney for peace, which is fab
Submitted by Mike Stetz
The National Jurist
Fri, 05/10/2019

Paul McCartney will be presented with the International Advocate for Peace Award during the commencement ceremony at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York on May 28.

Wait a sec ...

Fellow Beatle John Lennon wrote, "Give Peace a Chance."

He also wrote "Happy Xmas, War is Over."

Lennon and Yoko Ono also did a week-long "Bed-In for Peace" after their wedding. For, well, peace.

Lennon once famously said: "If everybody demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace." 

As we all know, Lennon, the man who long advocated peace, was gunned down. 

McCartney? He wrote "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da." (The lyrics were not commonly chanted during peace marches ...) 

He wrote "Lovely Rita."  (It's about a meter maid ...) 

Well, think of the challenge of living up to Lennon's legendary stance for peace. He was rock's Gandhi, after all. 

McCartney is being honored by students of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution because of his more than half-century of creating songs that “celebrate love and understanding, empathy and connection — the foundations of peace that are the heart of the human struggle.”

Yes, he's written a host of iconic songs, from "Yesterday" to "Hey Jude" to "Silly Love Songs." (That last one? OK, he's not perfect.)

Yet, McCartney's activism has been quite extensive and impassioned. A vegetarian, he's long advocated animal rights. (Hey, you can argue that animals deserve peace too!) His ex-wife lost a leg in an accident, so he joined her efforts to clear landmines from war-torn nations. They cause amputations or worse, and children are particularly vulnerable to them. He's fought fracking, fox hunting and oil drilling in the Arctic. 

He's performed in many concerts for charities. 

He took part in an anti-gun rally in New York. He told a reporter: “One of my best friends was killed in gun violence, right around here, so it’s important to me."

Lennon was more outspoken, brazen and, arguably, media-savvy. 

But Sir Paul has done a lot for peace and the planet, too. So it's cool that the "cute" Beatle is getting some due. 

cardozo.yu.edu
FORMER US SENATOR CLAIRE MCCASKILL WILL DELIVER THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT 2019 COMMENCEMENT; SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY TO RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE FOR PEACE AWARD FROM CARDOZO JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION AT CEREMONY
Cardozo News
April 3, 2019

Dean Melanie Leslie has announced that Claire McCaskill, the former United States Senator who represented Missouri from 2007 to 2018, will deliver the keynote address at Cardozo’s commencement ceremony on May 28th at Lincoln Center in New York City.

McCaskill was the first woman elected to the US Senate from Missouri. During her twelve years of service in Washington she was a member of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Homeland Security. Prior to her years in the Senate she was a prosecutor in Jackson County, Missouri and member of the Missouri House of Representatives. McCaskill earned her JD from the University of Missouri Law School.

Her record in the Senate includes voting in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; The Dream Act, which would have created a pathway for citizenship for undocumented immigrants born in the country; and sponsorship of the Victims Protection Act, which helps victims of sexual assault in the military. 

The Cardozo Commencement Ceremony will also include the presentation of the International Advocate for Peace Award to Sir Paul McCartney from students of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution. In honoring McCartney, students cited five decades of songs that “celebrate love and understanding, empathy and connection—the foundations of peace that are the heart of the human struggle.”

The award is given annually to individuals and groups who have made significant contributions to advocating for peace. Past recipients include President Bill Clinton, Senator George Mitchell, Benjamin B. Ferencz, playwright Eve Ensler and songwriters Peter, Paul and Mary.

The Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution (CJCR), affiliated with Cardozo Law’s Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution, is one of the country’s preeminent legal journals of arbitration, negotiation, mediation, settlement, and restorative justice.