The
year I graduated college, the Shah of Iran was our commencement speaker. For
reasons having nothing to do with politics or idealism – or the weather
(it would rain, for the first time since 1904) – I did not attend.
I
can’t imagine it was either particularly funny or inspiring or that I
missed much.
Instead,
I’ve chosen to adopt whatever commencement speeches I like – there
are so many good ones each year – most recently this one, delivered ten
days ago at the University of Michigan:
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 01, 2010
Big House, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
11:40 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank
you very much. Thank you, everybody. Please be seated.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Laughter.)
It is great to be here in the Big House -- (applause) -- and so
may I say, “Go Blue!” (Applause.) I thought I’d
go for the cheap applause line to start things off. (Laughter.)
Good afternoon, President Coleman, the Board of Trustees, to
faculty, parents, family and friends of the class of 2010. (Applause.)
Congratulations on your graduation, and thank you for allowing me the honor of
being a part of it. (Applause.) Let me acknowledge your
wonderful governor, Jennifer Granholm; your mayor, John Hieftje; and all the
members of Congress who are here today. (Applause.)
It is a privilege to be with you on this happy occasion, and, you know,
it’s nice to spend a little time outside of Washington.
(Laughter.) Now, don’t get me wrong -– Washington is a
beautiful city. It’s very nice living above the store; you
can’t beat the commute. (Laughter.) It’s just sometimes
all you hear in Washington is the clamor of politics. And all that noise
can drown out the voices of the people who sent you there. So when I
took office, I decided that each night I would read 10 letters out
of the tens of thousands that are sent to us by ordinary Americans every day
–- this is my modest effort to remind myself of why I ran in the first
place.
Some of these letters tell stories of heartache and
struggle. Some express gratitude, some express anger. I'd say a
good solid third call me an idiot -- (laughter) -- which is how I know that
I’m getting a good, representative sample. (Laughter and
applause.) Some of the letters make you think -- like the one that I
received last month from a kindergarten class in Virginia.
Now, the teacher of this class instructed the students to ask me
any question they wanted. So one asked, “How do you do your
job?” Another asked, “Do you work a lot?”
(Laughter.) Somebody wanted to know if I wear a black jacket
or if I have a beard –- (laughter) -- so clearly they were getting me
mixed up with the other tall guy from Illinois. (Laughter.) And one
of my favorites was from a kid who wanted to know if I lived next to a volcano.
(Laughter.) I'm still trying to piece the thought process on this
one. (Laughter.) Loved this letter.
But it was the last question from the last student in the letter
that gave me pause. The student asked, “Are people being
nice?” Are people being nice?
Well, if you turn on the news today, or yesterday, or a week
ago, or a month ago –- particularly one of the cable channels -–
(laughter) -- you can see why even a kindergartener would ask this
question. (Laughter.) We’ve got politicians calling each
other all sorts of unflattering names. Pundits and talking heads shout at
each other. The media tends to play up every hint of conflict, because
it makes for a sexier story -– which means anyone interested in getting
coverage feels compelled to make their arguments as outrageous and as
incendiary as possible.
Now, some of this contentiousness can be attributed to the
incredibly difficult moment in which we find ourselves as a nation. The
fact is, when you leave here today you will search for work in an economy that
is still emerging from the worst crisis since the Great Depression. You
live in a century where the speed with which jobs and industries move across
the globe is forcing America to compete like never before. You will raise
your children at a time when threats like terrorism and climate change
aren’t confined within the borders of any one country. And as our
world grows smaller and more connected, you will live and work with more people
who don’t look like you or think like you or come from where you
do.
I really enjoyed Alex’s remarks because that's a lot of
change. And all these changes, all these challenges, inevitably cause
some tension in the body politic. They make people worry about the future
and sometimes they get people riled up.
But I think it’s important that we maintain some historic
perspective. Since the days of our founding, American politics has
never been a particularly nice business. It’s always been a
little less gentle during times of great change. A newspaper of the
opposing party once editorialized that if Thomas Jefferson were elected,
“Murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and
practiced.” (Laughter.) Not subtle. Opponents of
Andrew Jackson often referred to his mother as a “common prostitute,”
which seems a little over the top. (Laughter.) Presidents from
Teddy Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson have been accused of promoting socialism, or
worse. And we’ve had arguments between politicians that have been
settled with actual duels. There was even a caning once on the floor of
the United States Senate -– which I’m happy to say didn’t
happen while I was there. (Laughter.) It was a few years
before. (Laughter.)
The point is, politics has never been for the thin-skinned or
the faint-of-heart, and if you enter the arena, you should expect to get
roughed up. Moreover, democracy in a nation of more than 300 million
people is inherently difficult. It’s always been noisy and messy,
contentious, complicated. We’ve been fighting about the proper
size and role of government since the day the Framers gathered in
Philadelphia. We’ve battled over the meaning of individual freedom
and equality since the Bill of Rights was drafted. As our economy has
shifted emphasis from agriculture to industry, to information, to technology,
we have argued and struggled at each and every juncture over the best way to
ensure that all of our citizens have a shot at opportunity.
So before we get too depressed about the current state of our
politics, let’s remember our history. The great debates of the past
all stirred great passions. They all made somebody angry, and at least
once led to a terrible war. What is amazing is that despite all the
conflict, despite all its flaws and its frustrations, our experiment in
democracy has worked better than any form of government on Earth.
(Applause.)
On the last day of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin
Franklin was famously asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got -– a
republic or a monarchy?” And Franklin gave an answer that’s
been quoted for ages: He said, “A republic, if you can keep
it.” If you can keep it.
Well, for more than 200 years, we have kept it. Through
revolution and civil war, our democracy has survived. Through depression
and world war, it has prevailed. Through periods of great social and
economic unrest, from civil rights to women’s rights, it has allowed us
slowly, sometimes painfully, to move towards a more perfect union.
And so now, class of 2010, the question for your generation is
this: How will you keep our democracy going? At a moment when
our challenges seem so big and our politics seem so small, how will you keep
our democracy alive and vibrant; how will you keep it well in this century?
I’m not here to offer some grand theory or detailed policy
prescription. But let me offer a few brief reflections based on my own
experiences and the experiences of our country over the last two centuries.
* First of all, American democracy has thrived because we have
recognized the need for a government that, while limited, can still help us
adapt to a changing world. On the fourth panel of the
Jefferson Memorial is a quote I remember reading to my daughters during our
first visit there. It says, “I am not an advocate for frequent
changes in laws and constitutions, but...with the change of circumstances,
institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.”
The democracy designed by Jefferson and the other founders was
never intended to solve every problem with a new law or a new program.
Having thrown off the tyranny of the British Empire, the first Americans were
understandably skeptical of government. And ever since we’ve held fast to
the belief that government doesn’t have all the answers, and we have
cherished and fiercely defended our individual freedom. That’s a
strand of our nation’s DNA.
But the other strand is the belief that there are some things we
can only do together, as one nation -– and that our government must keep pace
with the times. When America expanded from a few colonies to an entire
continent, and we needed a way to reach the Pacific, our government helped
build the railroads. When we transitioned from an economy based on farms to
one based on factories, and workers needed new skills and training, our
nation set up a system of public high schools. When the markets
crashed during the Depression and people lost their life savings, our
government put in place a set of rules and safeguards to make sure that such a
crisis never happened again, and then put a safety net in place to make sure
that our elders would never be impoverished the way they had been.
And because our markets and financial systems have evolved since then,
we’re now putting in place new rules and safeguards to protect the
American people. (Applause.)
Now, this notion -- this notion, class, hasn’t always been
partisan. It was the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, who
said the role of government is to do for the people what they cannot do better
for themselves. And he’d go on to begin that first intercontinental
railroad and set up the first land-grant colleges. It was another
Republican, Teddy Roosevelt, who said, “the object of government is the
welfare of the people.” And he’s remembered for using the
power of government to break up monopolies, and establish our National Park
system. (Applause.) Democrat Lyndon Johnson announced the Great
Society during a commencement here at Michigan, but it was the Republican
President before him, Dwight Eisenhower, who launched the massive government
undertaking known as the Interstate Highway System.
Of course, there have always been those who’ve opposed
such efforts. They argue government intervention is usually inefficient;
that it restricts individual freedom and dampens individual initiative.
And in certain instances, that’s been true. For many years, we had
a welfare system that too often discouraged people from taking responsibility
for their own upward mobility. At times, we’ve neglected the role
of parents, rather than government, in cultivating a child’s
education. And sometimes regulation fails, and sometimes their benefits
don’t justify their costs.
But what troubles me is when I hear people say that all of
government is inherently bad. One of my favorite signs during the health
care debate was somebody who said, “Keep Your Government Hands Out Of
My Medicare” -- (laughter) -- which is essentially saying “Keep
Government Out Of My Government-Run Health Care Plan.”
(Laughter.)
When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening
foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us.
We, the people -- (applause.) We, the people, hold in our hands the power
to choose our leaders and change our laws, and shape our own destiny.
Government is the police officers who are protecting our
communities, and the servicemen and women who are defending us abroad.
(Applause.) Government is the roads you drove in on and the speed limits
that kept you safe. Government is what ensures that mines adhere to
safety standards and that oil spills are cleaned up by the companies that
caused them. (Applause.) Government is this
extraordinary public university -– a place that’s doing lifesaving
research, and catalyzing economic growth, and graduating students who will
change the world around them in ways big and small.
(Applause.)
The truth is, the debate we’ve had for decades now between
more government and less government, it doesn’t really fit the times in
which we live. We know that too much government can stifle competition
and deprive us of choice and burden us with debt. But we’ve also
clearly seen the dangers of too little government -– like when a lack of
accountability on Wall Street nearly leads to the collapse of our entire
economy. (Applause.)
So, class of 2010, what we should be asking is not whether we need “big
government” or a “small government,” but how we can create a
smarter and better government. (Applause.) Because in an era of
iPods and Tivo, where we have more choices than ever before -- even though I
can't really work a lot of these things -- (laughter) -- but I have
23-year-olds who do it for me -- (laughter) -- government shouldn’t
try to dictate your lives. But it should give you the tools you need to
succeed. Government shouldn’t try to guarantee results, but it
should guarantee a shot at opportunity for every American who’s willing
to work hard. (Applause.)
So, yes, we can and should debate the role of government in our
lives. But remember, as you are asked to meet the challenges of our time,
remember that the ability for us to adapt our government to the needs of the
age has helped make our democracy work since its inception.
* Now, the second way to keep our democracy healthy is to
maintain a basic level of civility in our public debate.
(Applause.) These arguments we’re having over government and health
care and war and taxes -- these are serious arguments. They should arouse
people’s passions, and it’s important for everybody to join in the
debate, with all the vigor that the maintenance of a free people
requires.
But we can’t expect to solve our problems if all we do is
tear each other down. (Applause.) You can disagree with a
certain policy without demonizing the person who espouses it. You can
question somebody’s views and their judgment without questioning their
motives or their patriotism. (Applause.) Throwing
around phrases like “socialists” and “Soviet-style
takeover” and “fascist” and “right-wing nut” --
(laughter) -- that may grab headlines, but it also has the effect of comparing
our government, our political opponents, to authoritarian, even murderous
regimes.
Now, we’ve seen this kind of politics in the past.
It’s been practiced by both fringes of the ideological spectrum, by the
left and the right, since our nation’s birth. But it’s
starting to creep into the center of our discourse. And the problem with
it is not the hurt feelings or the bruised egos of the public officials who are
criticized. Remember, they signed up for it. Michelle always
reminds me of that. (Laughter.) The problem is that this kind of
vilification and over-the-top rhetoric closes the door to the possibility of
compromise. It undermines democratic deliberation. It prevents
learning –- since, after all, why should we listen to a “fascist,”
or a “socialist,” or a “right-wing nut,” or a left-wing
nut”? (Laughter.)
It makes it nearly impossible for people who have legitimate but
bridgeable differences to sit down at the same table and hash things out.
It robs us of a rational and serious debate, the one we need to have about the
very real and very big challenges facing this nation. It coarsens our
culture, and at its worst, it can send signals to the most extreme elements of
our society that perhaps violence is a justifiable response.
So what do we do? As I found out after a year in the White
House, changing this type of politics is not easy. And part of what
civility requires is that we recall the simple lesson most of us learned from
our parents: Treat others as you would like to be treated, with courtesy
and respect. (Applause.) But civility in this age also requires
something more than just asking if we can’t just all get along.
Today’s 24/7 echo-chamber amplifies the most inflammatory
soundbites louder and faster than ever before. And it’s also,
however, given us unprecedented choice. Whereas most Americans used to
get their news from the same three networks over dinner, or a few influential
papers on Sunday morning, we now have the option to get our information from
any number of blogs or websites or cable news shows. And this can have
both a good and bad development for democracy. For if we choose only
to expose ourselves to opinions and viewpoints that are in line with our own,
studies suggest that we become more polarized, more set in our ways.
That will only reinforce and even deepen the political divides in this
country.
But if we choose to actively seek out information that
challenges our assumptions and our beliefs, perhaps we can begin to understand
where the people who disagree with us are coming from.
Now, this requires us to agree on a certain set of facts to
debate from. That’s why we need a vibrant and thriving news
business that is separate from opinion makers and talking heads.
(Applause.) That’s why we need an educated citizenry that values
hard evidence and not just assertion. (Applause.) As Senator Daniel
Patrick Moynihan famously once said, “Everybody is entitled to his own
opinion, but not his own facts.” (Laughter.)
Still, if you’re somebody who only reads the editorial page of The New
York Times, try glancing at the page of The Wall Street Journal once in a while.
If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns
on the Huffington Post website. It may make your blood boil; your mind
may not be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is
essential for effective citizenship. (Applause.) It is essential
for our democracy. (Applause.)
And so, too, is the practice of engaging in different
experiences with different kinds of people. I look out at this class and
I realize for four years at Michigan you have been exposed to diverse thinkers
and scholars, professors and students. Don’t narrow that broad
intellectual exposure just because you’re leaving here. Instead,
seek to expand it. If you grew up in a big city, spend some time with
somebody who grew up in a rural town. If you find yourself only hanging
around with people of your own race or ethnicity or religion, include people in
your circle who have different backgrounds and life experiences.
You’ll learn what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes,
and in the process, you will help to make this democracy work.
(Applause.)
* Which brings me to the last ingredient in a functioning
democracy, one that's perhaps most basic -- and it’s already been
mentioned -- and that is participation.
Class of 2010, I understand that one effect of today’s
poisonous political climate is to push people away from participation in public
life. If all you see when you turn on the TV is name-calling, if all you
hear about is how special interest lobbying and partisanship prevented
Washington from getting something done, you might think to yourself,
“What’s the point of getting involved?”
Here’s the point. When we don’t pay close
attention to the decisions made by our leaders, when we fail to educate
ourselves about the major issues of the day, when we choose not to make our
voices and opinions heard, that’s when democracy breaks down.
That’s when power is abused. That’s when the most extreme
voices in our society fill the void that we leave. That’s when
powerful interests and their lobbyists are most able to buy access and
influence in the corridors of power –- because none of us are there to
speak up and stop them.
Participation in public life doesn’t mean that you all
have to run for public office -– though we could certainly use some fresh
faces in Washington. (Laughter and applause.) But it does mean that
you should pay attention and contribute in any way that you can. Stay
informed. Write letters, or make phone calls on behalf of an issue you
care about. If electoral politics isn’t your thing, continue
the tradition so many of you started here at Michigan and find a way to serve
your community and your country –- an act that will help you stay
connected to your fellow citizens and improve the lives of those around
you.
It was 50 years ago that a young candidate for president came
here to Michigan and delivered a speech that inspired one of the most
successful service projects in American history. And as John F.
Kennedy described the ideals behind what would become the Peace Corps, he
issued a challenge to the students who had assembled in Ann Arbor on that
October night: “on your willingness to contribute part of your life
to this country,” he said, will depend the answer whether a free society
can compete. I think it can,” he said.
This democracy we have is a precious thing.
For all the arguments and all the doubts and all the cynicism that’s out
there today, we should never forget that as Americans, we enjoy more freedoms
and opportunities than citizens in any other nation on Earth.
(Applause.) We are free to speak our mind and worship as we please.
We are free to choose our leaders, and criticize them if they let us
down. We have the chance to get an education, and work hard, and give our
children a better life.
None of this came easy. None of this was
preordained. The men and women who sat in your chairs 10 years ago and 50
years ago and 100 years ago –- they made America possible through their
toil and their endurance and their imagination and their faith. Their
success, and America’s success, was never a given. And there is no
guarantee that the graduates who will sit in these same seats 10 years from
now, or 50 years from now, or 100 years from now, will enjoy the same freedoms
and opportunities that you do. You, too, will have to strive. You,
too, will have to push the boundaries of what seems possible. For the truth
is, our nation’s destiny has never been certain.
What is certain -– what has always been certain -–
is the ability to shape that destiny. That is what makes us different.
That is what sets us apart. That is what makes us Americans -– our
ability at the end of the day to look past all of our differences and all of
our disagreements and still forge a common future. That task is now in
your hands, as is the answer to the question posed at this university half a
century ago about whether a free society can still compete.
If you are willing, as past generations were willing, to
contribute part of your life to the life of this country, then I, like
President Kennedy, believe we can. Because I believe in you.
(Applause.)
Congratulations on your graduation, 2010. May God bless
you, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
(Applause.)
END
12:11 P.M. EDT
☞
By the way, do you know what makes a really good graduation gift (he says, with
staggering immodesty)? This
book.