Ok, I confess. I’m a huge fan of commencement speeches. I always read them when my mom or the office manager forwards them to me, no matter who wrote them. I still remember what my college commencement speaker (it was the guy who brought the 1996 Olympics to Atlanta) said: “Never, never, never, never give up” –paraphrasing Churchill, of course. I was profoundly moved by the speech at the time and probably would be today if I heard it again. But then, I’m not 21 anymore.
Nonetheless, I’d love to edit a book of great commencement speeches. Thousands are given every year across the nation and rarely ever are they recorded and circulated widely (although the internet is changing this). Perhaps the majority of them shouldn’t be. But every once in a while someone really nails it, really drives one home. It’s extraordinarily hard to condense a lot of wisdom into a gracefully concise speech, and even harder to stay witty and concrete enough to keep a crowd engaged. Maybe its the atmosphere, the high hopes and untested potential of the moment that makes hearing a commencement speech so moving, but there are those speeches which defy the cheesiness and truly remain inspirational. These should be read regularly.
Here are three that I think qualify. Two are old and one is new. If you know of others that compare with these, let me know.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Working at an university I get to hear them a couple Saturday mornings every year. I couldn’t tell you who my favorite was, but this Saturday we have Artur Davis coming, and every time I’ve heard him speak he was great.
July 27th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Check out one by Utah Phillips, a anarchist and defector from the Korean War, turned social activist and folk singer. I don’t know the college or the exact quote, but know that he was slightly angered by the presence of the business magnate who was to speak after him and told them…”You are about to be told that you are America’s Greatest Resource. Have you seen what they do to America’s resources? They are gonna strip mine your soul, Clear cut you creativity, and build roads over your beauty.” Or something like that. He was escorted from the ceremony.