Graduates, lend them your ears

Bob (backstage):This is the first graduation speech you've given since Calvin Coolidge was president, isn't it Cal? You think you're nervous. Think about these graduates. Let me channel them for a second: They're being hurled into the angry mosh pit that is a severe recession. Hunting for a job today is like searching for integrity in Washington! But I do see a glimmer of hope. A 2007 survey of Harvard's graduating class showed that 58% of men and 43% of women were going into finance and consulting, instead of pursuing science, engineering or other jobs we need to compete in the world. The days of the Wall Street cash machine are over, and in the long run, that's good for the country.

Cal: I agree that making money should not be anyone's sole purpose in life. Remember that ancient wisdom, "The love of money is the root of all evil"? It isn't money that is evil, though. It's what you do with it that can be good or bad. There is nothing wrong with making money. If there were, who would pay the taxes to big-spending government? I want them to know they will find more satisfaction by being good stewards of what they have while helping others rather than just accumulating stuff. Now let's go get 'em!

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Bob: Students, parents, faculty, lefties, righties and all of those in between. Congratulations … I think. With our economy in shambles and millions out of work, I know many of you graduates are tempted to simply adopt a well-known political chant — "Four more years!" — while begging your parents to ante up for another degree. But speaking for your parents, let me say, "Get a job!" They didn't shell out this cash for your education only to watch you move back home into your old bedroom, which — by the way — has already been turned into a home office. On a serious note, when I sat where you are sitting today, the job market was better, but the world was a far more dangerous place. Our nation was divided over the Vietnam War. Tens of thousands of our young people were dying in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The mighty Soviet Union had nuclear weapons aimed at us and we at them. We were sworn enemies. It was a frightening time.

Cal: But your challenges will be far more complex than any we faced. Islamic fundamentalists seek to destroy our way of life. They are after nuclear weapons, including the remnants of those from the Cold War. The Soviets were officially atheist. Today's terrorists want to kill you in the name of their God. You can't negotiate with such fanaticism. Strength and resolve maintain peace. The economy is suffering, and we are in debt greater than any nation has ever known. When I graduated from college, the possibilities were endless. As Americans today, the possibilities … are still endless. Your generation faces daunting challenges, to be sure, but no country responds to crises like this one. You will be the authors of the next great chapter in American history.

Bob: Fanatical Islam is, as Cal says, a grave threat, but we cannot live our lives in a constant state of fear, determining what we do and how we do it only after first consulting a color-coded chart. It is time to turn home and address the future of our country on our terms.

Cal: One must not live in fear, though, in order to simply be prepared. Whether your first job after graduation, your first — and let's hope only! — marriage, or your first child, preparation and anticipation only clear the path for a better future. And that future — your future, your children's future — will depend on this country's ability to keep terrorists at bay. Ignoring a threat will not vanquish it.

Bob: Despite threats to the homeland, whether terrorism or fiscal dangers, we still live in a dynamic time. The recession will fade; our dynamism never will. When I sat where you sit, we hadn't yet heard of cellphones or the Internet. No iPods or e-mail, MySpace, or Facebook. No Twitter. The access to information today is infinite. The chance to organize in virtual communities for good is unlimited.

Cal: And yet more information does not ensure a better-informed, or wiser, society. Today, too many people talk when they should be listening. Too many people criticize rather than contribute. Too many people barricade themselves on the "left" or the "right," treating politics as a blood sport rather than a means to cultivate a common good.

Bob: When I sat where you now sit, a scientist and ecologist named Rachel Carson was one of the few people warning of the environmental calamity to come in her book Silent Spring. I participated in the first Earth Day. It was not the global event that you witnessed last week. Your generation is the one that must literally "save the world." That once-hackneyed phrase has become a moral mandate.

Cal: This is not the place to debate climate change, but let me say this: Question anyone who tells you with certainty what will happen 10 years from now, let alone 100 years out. Skepticism about global warming is a sign of independent thought, which I believe is supposed to be cultivated in academia. The cry of the young in the '60s was, "Never trust anyone over 30." I would suggest another slogan: "Never trust a politician." Don't get caught up in their causes.

Bob: And speaking of the '60s, you can — indeed, must — learn from the failures of past generations. Most of you are Millennials, born from 1982 through the early 2000s. I am a member of the Baby Boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964. Boomers have been the most pampered, obnoxious, know-it-all, overrated generation in U.S. history. Sadly, Boomers are so self-absorbed that many have failed to contribute to their communities. Your generation has already shown a commitment to volunteerism unparalleled in my lifetime. You have shown that idealism is more than tie-dyed shirts and chants.

Cal: But this same sense of commitment to country must not be poisoned by class warfare or generational envy. Just before coming out on stage, Bob mentioned to me Calvin Coolidge (who by the way left office with a surplus and without a tax increase). Coolidge said, "Do the day's work. If it be to protect the rights of the weak, whoever objects, do it. If it be to help a powerful corporation better to serve the people, whatever the opposition, do that. … Don't hesitate to be as revolutionary as science. Don't hesitate to be as reactionary as the multiplication table. Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." Character issues begin in each of you, not in Washington.

Bob: And this, my friends, is where Cal and I ultimately find common ground. Government can do many things, but it cannot instill values in you, let alone morality. Those come from family, community, your church and most importantly from within. We live on a small planet that gets smaller by the day. We need to depend on each other if we are to live at peace with our neighbors and ourselves. I get the sense you already understand that.

Cal: I close with ancient wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes: "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. … As goods increase, so do those who consume them, and what benefit are they to the owner, except to feast his eyes on them?" Seek wisdom and all else will follow. Bob and I wish you good luck, and may God bless.