I attended the graduation ceremony at the University of Virginia this weekend, and Governor Tim Kaine gave a great speech to the graduates. Light and airy, his address started out with a statement I couldn’t agree more with:
As I stand here this morning, I can’t help but think about the futility of graduation speeches. I don’t remember anything any of my graduation speakers ever said. In fact, I was the speaker at one of my graduations – my high school graduation – and I can’t even remember what I said. So I hold no illusions about this speech being the central memory you carry forward from today.
Heh. Read the whole thing. Meanwhile, as I noted before, SECDEF Rumsfeld gave the address at VMI, in which he gave some advice the blogosphere could take to heart:
“For the first time in American history, the full view of war — its glories and its hours — is on display to the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,”
“Because of these new technologies, the American people are seeing things they never saw before about the realities of major conflict and postwar violence. They will need the help of those of you who have studied military strategy to better understand what it is they are seeing everyday and to become more aware that war requires continuous adjustments and calibrations, just as the enemy, an enemy with a brain, constantly adjusts its tactics.”
Back to Gov. Kaine, I can’t for the life of me remember anything a graduation speaker imparted to me. Anyone have anything they actually remember from theirs?
Can’t remember who the speaker was, or a damn thing he said.
Can’t remember mine. But at my older sister’s graduation the speaker quoted the main line from the 1941 speech of Winston Churchill: “Never, Never, Never, give in!” I heard it for the first time as a teenager, and have over the 20+ years since read and re-read Churchill’s speech. Now there’s a speech to remember!
Oh – I can remember my graduation speaker. Not our valedictorian or salutatorian – but the speaker. A little town in Wyoming – population has yet to hit 4,000.
Next thing we know we’re thrown into a weird “I have a dream” (which he said 23 times) scenario by the guy – leading up to the finale of his having us stand, join hands, and sing some song like kumbya.
Yep – that kind of thing sticks in the memory bank! =)