It was delivered by their English teacher, David McCullough, Jr. And it includes the following flowery description of these self-involved little snowflakes.You are not special. You are not exceptional.I mean, his overall message is great.
Contrary to what your soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special.
Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building...
But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not.
Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages. And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you’ll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.But going through those first several paragraphs, you kind of get the feeling that is a guy who didn't make tenure.
(Complete text, which is well worth reading, is here.)
In a way even a bit Randian, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteSure, Randian, except for that whole "be an ass and kick everybody else in the face" subtext. Read the whole thing. He included "help others," which is easily the least Randian philosophy in the known universe.
ReplyDeleteNot true. Charitable considerations that are voluntary were supported by Rand.
DeleteBut not by any of her followers, weirdly enough.
DeleteThe people (outside of college boys) most likely to claim to be followers of Ayn Rand are rich (and therefore "better," because they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps - if you ignore all the government programs they take advantage of). But they're really crappy at charity.
Only a partially accurate statement. Certainly not all advocates of Objectivism view themselves as "better" because they pulled themselves up by there bootstraps. Holding such a view is subjective and really only muddles the discussion with respect to Rand's philosophy.
DeleteOn the other side of the coin there are certainly those who do not support charity of any sort. Again, voluntary charity is proper, should be encouraged, and s not in discord with Rand's objectivist ethics.
Irrespective of what anon may say.
Randian hypocrisy? NO!
ReplyDeleteanon, I see you are following me around blogistan. Good. I must be doing something right to have you chasing me from my site to the the progressive sites I visit. The 23 spam comments you left at my site this morning replete with your filthy language and personal smears will of course did not get posted. But keep up all the trouble you o through if it gives you some perverted sense of satisfaction.
DeleteWell, heck, I think if I was a-going to go and say something like that to a bunch of students and their parents, I'd just turn the keys over to the Victorian don Walter Pater and read them all his brilliantly scandalous 1873 "Conclusion" to Studies in the History of the Renaissance. Carpe dino!
ReplyDelete