Someone once told me that no one ever remembers the speech given at his or her graduation (quick: do you remember yours?) and its true that many commencement addresses are laced withplatitudes and banalities. As a colleague who attended a graduation this past weekend observed, “Nothing has changed since I graduated. The same encouraging words, the same quotes from Thoreau.”
Making much the same point, the New York Times created a graphic to illustrate how many times certain bracing words wererepeated in commencement speeches this year,and the top contenders wont surprise you, including “responsibility,” service,” “opportunity,” “God,” and “nation.”
Still, a glance at some of this years college graduation speeches provides a moving portrait of our times — as well as some humor and good advice. Writer Jonathan Franzen, for example, challenged students atKenyon Collegeto go beyond “liking” the people they encounter on Facebook, and take the much greater risk of loving instead: “Because the fundamental fact about all of us is that we’re alive for a while but will die before long. And you can either run from this fact or, by way of love, you can embrace it.”
There was a lot of dark humor about graduates moving back in with their parents because of the high unemployment rate. Comedian Conan OBrien, for example, reminded Dartmouth parents that although they hadnt seen their children in four years, “Now you are about to see them every day when they come out of the basement to tell you the Wi-Fi isnt working.”
Other speakers sought to remind young people that success shouldnt be their only goal: “Personal success devoid of meaningfulness, free of a steady commitment to social justice, that’s more than a barren life; it is a trivial one, ” pointed out writer Toni Morrison at Rutgers University.
Columnist Anna Quindlen disputed the notion that contemporary parents owe graduates an apology, because they havent enabled their children to do better than they themselves have, in terms of economic success. “I suggest that this is a moment to consider what “doing better” really means,” she told Grinnell Colleges graduating class.”If you are part of the first generation of Americans who genuinely see race and ethnicity as attributes, not stereotypes, will you not have done better than we did? If you are part of the first generation of Americans with a clear understanding that gay men and lesbians are entitled to be full citizens of this country with all its rights, will you not have done better than we did? If you are part of the first generation of Americans who assume women merit full equality instead of grudging acceptance, will you not have done better than we did?”
Finally, Conan OBriens speech at Dartmouth was full of both wisdom and irreverence. He talked about being booted from the Tonight Show and didnt downplay how devastating the experience was. Instead, he gave graduates — teenagers poised to enter adulthood at one of the most challenging times in recent history — some advice about failure: “There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized….In 2000 I told graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that. But today I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.” [See entire speech below]
Do you remember any humor, wisdom or foolishnessyou heard at graduation–this year or 20 years ago? Let us know.
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