I’m sending it to my high-school graduating kid.
The tide is turning....once again....
New HS, in the library, the last names of famous literary figures are carved into the molding or the like.
"Obama" is one. My guess is that they just took a reading list from Oprah, rather than spending any effort looking at what classics still resonate with readers decades after publication.
After all, how long did it take for people to know that Obama wrote that he was a dog eater?
Quite true.
It struck me recently how many movies of the last three decades or so end with the hero being lauded by the crowd, as if nothing else could possibly be more important.
Which ties in, of course, with our "famous for being famous" culture.
The “self esteem” movement has always been part of the agenda to devalue human life anyway.
This is extraordinary- have sent to Rush and Drudge... worthy of a viral explosion.
Thank you very much for posting this.
I was there for my niece’s graduation, except my daughters and I showed up an hour late, and then hung out under the bleachers watching “King of the Hill” on my Droid until my niece’s name was called.
Don’t tell my sister!
I’m LOL over this because my semi-liberal sister teaches in precious Wellesley and this must have shocked her.
This is what the lib is actually saying: “You’re not capable of taking care of yourself. Socialism will take care of you.”
Good speech!
What with speeches at my own graduations, my wife’s, those of our four kids and then assorted relatives & friends, I’ve heard a few commencement speeches over the years.
Among the very best was one given to the HS graduating class in our small Appalachian town by an alumnus, Nick Searcy.
Nick is Hollywood actor, famous locally for his part as the sheriff in the (partly) locally filmed Harrison Ford movie, The Fugitive. He also played in Nell, Cast Away, Head of State, and as the abusive husband in Fried Green Tomatoes, who end up in the BBQ.
His speech was not what one might expect from a “Hollywood type” and was in a similar vein to this speech by Wellesley High School teacher David McCullough, Jr.
Teach kids that which is Truth, teach them to recognize Truth and teach them to deal with the truth about themselves and the world around them. This is the antithesis of Political Correctness and the essence of a classical education.
Bravo! This is the kind of speech I would have given, which explains why I never will be asked to give one ;-)
Helen: Dashiell Robert Parr, you are an incredibly competitive boy, and a bit of a show-off. The last thing you need is temptation.
Dash: You always say ‘Do your best’, but you don’t really mean it. Why can’t I do the best that I can do?
Helen: Right now, honey, the world just wants us to fit in, and to fit in, we gotta be like everyone else.
Dash: But Dad always said our powers were nothing to be ashamed of, our powers made us special.
Helen: Everyone’s special, Dash.
Dash: [muttering] Which is another way of saying no one is.
http://www.theswellesleyreport.com/2012/06/wellesley-high-grads-told-youre-not-special/
The direct link so you can skip the Blaze.
Other than the part about selflessness vs. selfishness, I like the speech. The use of language was extraordinary. Perhaps I’ll have my college freshmen learn all of the words in the speech. That could be a great vocabulary building exercise.
Excellent post, excellent speech. It’s about doing things for others and not for self. Seems Jesus tried to teach that...and they crucified him.
I’m wondering if the kids listening would interpret “You’re not special” as meaning “You’re not mentally handicapped.”
I have a special nephew.
Anyway, I was thinking about my kid. He was in no way special when he graduated (I wonder what the stats are in regards to U.S. graduation rates and how many graduates can read their diploma) but he is now. He joined the Corps.
“happy days are here again....”
Neal Boortz Faux Commencement Speech:
http://www.boortz.com/news/news/local-education/commencement-speech/nCG7H/
Neal didn’t deliver this for a commencement but he did deliver it to a happy crowd at Kennesaw State University all to benefit Make A Wish Foundation May 20, 2009.