You? A Commencement Speaker?

Imagine the plight of a commencement speaker. First, they get invited to speak. Swollen with pride, they race to a dusty shelf in their office where, although they may dismiss the fact, they’ve had a speech in waiting for years. “Finally, I will get my opportunity to impart years of gained knowledge and worldly experience to legions of fresh-faced twenty-somethings. Oh, if only Mom could see me now.”
Yes, they are atop Cloud Nine floating somewhere above the earth. Flooding their minds are appropriate words to say, correct pronunciations in fat dictionaries, so as not to make a fool of themselves, and thoughts of what to wear to the graduation ceremony. Then, whoosh, deflation of ego on being uninvited.
Graduations are really betwixt and between, they are necessary, but so are root canals and tax audits. They are happy times, milestones in one’s life, a cornerstone in young careers. Caps, gowns and diplomas mark, for many, the end of the beginning of debt (college loans) that clings to one’s name for years into the future. Still, graduation is a ceremony at which noble words must be spoken by someone who knows.
Graduation speakers were in the limelight recently, not so much for the words they will utter as for the fact they will never get to utter them. Everyone knows first lady Michelle Obama was all set to address the Topeka (Kan.) Unified School District 501 at its commencement. The honor was to have marked the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that ended segregation in public schools as well as the graduation of the boys and girls.
However, smiles quickly turned to frowns once it was realized that, due to security concerns for Mrs. Obama, only a limited number of tickets for seats would be available to the grads so their families and pals could watch them walk the walk with their class. Such a furor ensued the notion was scrapped, and the first lady graciously stepped away from the offer.
Closer to home, but a hellish trip north from here to New Brunswick, imagine how Condoleeza Rice, secretary of state under President George W. Bush, felt after being invited by Rutgers’ Board of Governors, then shunned by Rutgers’ faculty as May 18 commencement speaker. Though she likely has a crust thicker than iron, after working in Washington, D.C. for some time, it still probably stung when she got word she could save her time and stay home.
According to the National Review Online, May 3, in a story about the withdrawal from our state university’s biggest day of the year, Rice wrote, “Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduate and their families. I am honored to have served my country. I have defended America’s belief in free speech and the exchange of ideas. These values are essential to the health of our democracy. But that is not what is at issue here.”
Labeled by some protesting students there as a “war criminal” for her role in the nation’s Iraq War and her boss’ “war on terrorism,” Rice took the sad route always advocated by my dear departed grandmother: “Never go where you’re not wanted.” Rice knows the ways of the world, especially that strange world of academia, having been a 30-year professor at Stanford University, its chief academic officer and provost.
Then, after some shuffling through the tattered old Rolodex for the next “likely candidate,” as commencement speaker, the wise men and women at our state university did a fast-forward on former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, who was reportedly stood up after being invited to replace Rice. But then, on second thought, he was asked to speak as one of many, and given a degree. The gowned ones pulled former Gov. Tom Kean’s name from the index cards, connected with him and voila! He’ll be keynote speaker… maybe. That is, until someone protests or whatever else might befall.
Maybe it’s time for some “Joe the plumber” type to be a commencement speaker, but that would be too logical, the lads and lasses might well remember what that person said. Surely common folks would use words everybody, even their unschooled parents, could understand. How would it sound, looking out across an ocean of capped and gowned glazed gazes to begin, “I sure hope you can stay awake long enough to hear what I have to say to you. Hey, you, in the 14th row, wake up, this is important.
“Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, you owe a lot to your folks, more than you give them credit for. You lived a life most of us gray-heads never could have wished to have. You had stuff, like calculators and computers that we never had, and you took them for granted. You took courses and tests that your folks or you will have to pay for decades, but do you know what’s important? Respect and hard work that’s what made this great country. When somebody calls, we answered. They needed work done, we did it. We didn’t ask ‘What are our days off?’ and all that. No, we were happy to have a job. We hated long hours, but that’s what it took to make a buck, to put food on the table and clothes on our children’s backs.
“Don’t think for a minute this world owes you one stinking dime, because it doesn’t. Unless you earn it yourself, don’t expect it. Don’t be afraid to sweat and get your hands dirty that’s what made this one hell of a nation. People did for themselves, they helped their neighbors, they respected themselves and they respected other folks, even if they didn’t agree with their ideas. Man, have we gotten away from that today.
“Do yourself a big favor. Take a job, any job, in a business you think may be a good one for you. Learn that job as well as you can. Learn from the grass roots, and if you want to be a big shot someday, never forget what you learned from your first boss on that first job. You may be in the mail room today, but look up. Do your best that’s all anyone can ask of you.
“And if you are fortunate – notice I didn’t say lucky – and opportunity comes your way, don’t be afraid to take a risk, a chance to fail if it means you might get ahead. That’s another thing that made America great, taking risks and not being afraid to flop, fall flat and then, get up, learn from your mistakes and advance.
“If you do that, you’ll make yourselves proud; your folks will be proud of you, and we all will be better for what you did. And one more thing, don’t be afraid to thank God for what you have, whatever you call Him. Lots of folks your age wish they could have even a quarter of what you have. This land is blessed. Thank you.”
Imagine the plight of the commencement speaker who delivered that one-two punch.