Graduation Season Begins
by Brian Reich | 8 May 2006, 2:00am
US Representative Rosa DeLaura (D-CT) delivered the commencement address at the University of Connecticut on Sunday. According to the Boston Globe, DeLauro told the graduates that while society seems to increasingly lack faith in its ability to tackle big problems and that institutions from the government to the media to corporations are letting people down, they must “resist the impulse to tune out in the face of daunting problems.” An excerpt:
“Where college dared you to take risks and face problems head on, and supported you when you did, the world out there is more likely to encourage you to play it safe, to change the channel, put on the iPod headphones and tune out…
“And so today, I ask you to turn off your iPods for a moment, and think about the stake you have in the challenges we face. I ask you to not simply accept that responsibility, but embrace it with that uniquely American spirit that affirms our belief that even in an environment of mistrust and indifference, big solutions are possible.”
Commencement season is one of my favorite times of year. The rhetoric shared by speakers at schools all across the country is at a premium. And the optimism that graduates carry into the real world is (or should be) infectious.
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