Springtime is time for graduations and, of course, for those rousing and sometimes not-so-rousing commencement addresses.
It is the time when presidents and vice presidents are invited—and sometimes disinvited—to congratulate, praise, motivate and encourage the new graduates as they go into the “real world.”
This spring, that “real world,” with our economy in a full-throated recession and unemployment at record high levels, has been particularly depressing and uninviting for the new graduates.
Thus it is no wonder that, this spring, many of the commencement addresses delivered by the president, the first lady, cabinet members (at least 10 of them), senators and representatives, and also by CEO’s, actors, poets, TV personalities, etc., at least briefly mentioned and sometimes dwelled at length on our economy and on the bleak prospects for the new graduates.
We have heard or read the commencement addresses delivered by President Obama and by Michelle Obama— encouragement and hope alternated with caution.
The speeches have focused on aspirations and success, on the economy, on leadership and accomplishments, on the economy, on the capabilities and potential of the graduates, on overcoming hardships and on perseverance, and…on the economy and unemployment.
This morning, the New York Times published excerpts from the commencement addresses by several government officials, academicians, historians, a head of state, and others, including the co-founder of Google, the chief executive of Coca Cola, and Oprah Winfrey.
They all carry relevant and valuable messages.
Here are four examples, starting with “the power of example in leadership”:
Secretary Robert M. Gates,
At the United States Military Academy
During the Revolution, a man in civilian clothes rode past a redoubt being repaired. The commander was shouting orders but not helping. When the rider asked why, the supervisor of the work detail retorted, “Sir, I am a corporal.” The stranger apologized, dismounted and helped repair the redoubt. When he was done, he turned toward the supervisor and said, “’Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this, and not enough men to do it, go to your commander in chief, and I will come and help you again.” Too late, the corporal recognized George Washington. The power of example in leadership.
On the “New Generation”:
Natalie Davis,
Political science professor,
At Birmingham-Southern College
You are the Millennials. You differ from Generation X in that you are neither cynical nor alienated, and you seem to like your parents. You’re not like the boomers, who are ideologues and tend to listen only to those who share their ideology. You are seen as being inclusive when it comes to race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. You actually have positive attitudes on the ability of government to play a constructive role in our lives. You want to build coalitions. … You are networked, and you tweet. And most importantly for our time, you are problem-solvers.
On “hope or fear,” from a real hero, who has known both:
Kimberly Dozier,
CBS News Correspondent
At Wellesley College
You chose a Wellesley grad who spent the first decade of her career broke, begging for freelance work, who constantly heard she was underqualified or, later, overqualified (that means old) or basically just plain wrong for whatever it was she wanted to do. She eventually ended up with a really great job, doing exactly what she wanted to do, exactly where she wanted to do it: in the Middle East. And she got hit by a car bomb; they nearly took her legs off. She had to come back from the dead, roughly five times, and learn how to walk again. So it tells me a lot about you and your current state of mind that you all thought you needed to hear from me, with whatever lessons I had to offer from those experiences, as you leave college for the rest of your life. In short, you all want to know how to be bomb-proof, right? So you’re right: I learned a lot. Most of all, that every time I ran into a wall, I had two choices on how to face it: hope or fear.
And, of course, on the economy:
Barbara Ehrenreich,
Author
At the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism
You are going to be trying to carve out a career in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. You are, furthermore, going to be trying to do so within what appears to be a dying industry. You have abundant skills and talents; it’s just not clear that anyone wants to pay you for them. Well, you are not alone. How do you think it feels to be an autoworker right now? And I’ve spent time with plenty of laid-off paper mill workers, construction workers and miners. They’ve got skills; they’ve got experience. They just don’t have jobs. So let me be the first to say this to you: Welcome to the American working class.
For more great excerpts, please read “Praise, Advice and Reminders of the Sour Economy for Graduates.”
Image: Courtesy www.defenselink.mil
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.