Commencement 2008
Commencement Address by Sen. John F. Kerry
Thank you, Madame President. “President.” Still sounds good to me. Let me reinforce what you already know. You’re very lucky to have Jackie as your President. As an African American and a woman, you combine all the great aspects of this year’s Democratic primary into one—and guess what? You do so without running up $20 million of campaign debt or bowling a 37.
Actually, Jackie and I are old friends. Unfortunately, in 2004, only one of us became President—and ever since, Jackie has done a terrific job leading this university into the 21st century and working closely with Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick to improve the future of education for everyone in Massachusetts.
Wheelock has such an amazing history. It was founded in 1888 and I looked this up—do you know who the first commencement speaker was back then? John McCain.
Another amazing thing about Wheelock: In the 120 years since it was founded, you have never lost a football game.
But the most impressive thing about Wheelock is the quality of the education it provides. This college is a leader in training experts in early childhood education. You are better prepared than anyone to deal with temperamental, unruly six-year-old minds. Or as we call them in Washington—Senators.
Now some of you may have heard that I’ve endorsed Barack Obama. The two of us prove that opposites attract. He’s black, I’m white; he went to Harvard, I went to Yale; he’s the most dynamic speaker of the past 40 years; I’m here to keep you awake for the next ten minutes.
Actually, I heard you had a great choice of commencement speakers but you just really wanted a wealthy guy with a full head of hair who is all over TV and who desperately wanted to be president. Unfortunately, Donald Trump couldn’t make it.
So I stand before you today, proud of the fact I received over 59 million votes for president, yet humbled to know that’s still 5 million fewer people than voted this past week on “American Idol” for David Archuleta.
You guys really are a unique generation—and I envy you. You’ve had so many advantages we didn’t have when I went to college. For one thing, you had Red Bull. I had to fake staying awake in class.
In fact, think about it: I graduated in 1966. Back then there was an unpopular war going on, a president from Texas who had high disapproval ratings, Ted Kennedy was a U.S. Senator and the Rolling Stones were going on tour. Thank God so much has changed in 42 years.
So here you are today, graduating surrounded by your families. What an incredibly proud moment for your parents. The key will be if they feel this way next May if you are still living at home.
Obviously, you’re very excited and full of questions about what the future holds. What does the future hold? It’s one of the three great questions of the universe, right up there with is there a God and how does Paula Abdul keep her job?
Two of those questions are hard to answer. But let me help you out with the third—what is the world going to look like in 10 years? What will it be like in the year 2018?
Well, I think in ten years, for certain, young people will be electing their own candidates. I have three words for people who think this is a good idea—President Miley Cyrus.
In 2018 Roger Clemens’ dates will have turned 25.
Ten years from now many of you will change; some will make horrible mistakes of judgment. By that I mean you could even become a Yankee fan.
In 2018 we will still face the same tirades from the world’s longest-reigning dictator as he presides over the collapse of a failed empire—but enough about George Steinbrenner.
In 2018 the price of gas will continue to skyrocket. Heather Mills will be proposing to Texaco dealers.
By 2018, the average member of Congress will serve 12 years. Actually 10-15 depending on the sentencing judge.
Now I’m sure many of you will feel uneasy about the future I’ve just described. You’re thinking: “Who cares about 10 years from now? Where am I going to be in the short term? Where will I be a year from now? Will I be employable? Will I have a job?”—I’m sorry, that’s what I worry about.
Well, I’m not going to lie to you, there will be some shock entering the working world. There could be some unexpected hurdles. It’s like when you found out you can’t earn computer science credits by playing “Guitar Hero.”
So here are five quick rules to guide you:
Rule #1: Never borrow money from a guy with a scar who goes by the name of Lefty.
Rule #2: When March rolls around next year, do not ask your bosses if they want to go to Cancun for a week.
Rule #3: No matter how cool it looks, it’s never a good idea to wear a nose ring to that first job interview.
Rule #4: When filling out your dating profile on eharmony.com, it’s never good to list your life goal as moving out of your parent’s basement by the time you turn 40.
And finally, one more important rule: when you go off to celebrate tonight, have a wonderful time, enjoy the parties, live it up. Just don’t put the footage on YouTube.
It’s fun to joke around for a few minutes—especially because so many of the issues staring us in the face are so serious. But let me just tell you candidly that never have I seen so many issues posing such a serious challenge so little dealt with.
And of all the issues we face today, none is a greater challenge than global climate change. In 1987, Al Gore and I and a few other senators held the first hearing on climate change. Back then, lots of people didn’t believe it was an issue. Well, here we are, 21 years later, still waiting for a government response that’s equal to the size of the challenge.
This week, I brought many of the top climate scientists in the country to Washington to brief my fellow senators. And the news was sobering. I’ve heard it for years, but it’s still sobering.
They told us the ice sheets are melting 100 years ahead of what scientists had been predicting. They told us that Antarctica—once considered relatively safe from climate change—is melting faster than anyone predicted. A chunk of ice seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed in late March. Since 90 percent of the world’s ice is in Antarctica, this is pretty ominous: it could easily lead to a faster-than-expected rise in sea level.
These scientists told us about a 30 percent increase in the acidity of the oceans—which has disastrous implications for the coral reefs that house one-quarter of ocean species. Eighty percent of living corals will be lost in our lifetime. They told us that Arctic sea ice may have fallen by as much as 50 percent since the 1950s.
We’re starting debate in the Senate on a historic bill to cap and trade the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and let me tell you: We in government have got to get this right.
While Washington dawdles, the most exciting thing is happening across the country. I met recently with five green venture capital companies who are doing remarkable things right here in Massachusetts. I met with Craig Venter, who was instrumental to mapping the human genome—now he’s working on developing an entirely new source of energy.
This is the future, and it’s unbelievably exciting. We’re talking about the possibility of millions of new jobs, of new Googles, staring us in the face.
I know it sounds corny, but the single best way to bring about the change you want is to put people in power that will do what you want.
Whether it’s ending the war in Iraq, or making sure that college stays affordable for middle-class families, or making sure that nobody dies from chronic diseases because they can’t afford health care, there are too many issues today where Washington is doing things that don’t make sense.
And the only reason they can get away with any of it is because there’s a lack of accountability in American politics today. You want to make a difference? You can.
I know that most of you won’t go into politics full-time. Many of you will sympathize with Justice Earl Warren’s quip that, “the sports page records people's accomplishments, the front page nothing but their failures.”
Well, I don’t agree. In my lifetime alone, while I waited 61 years to see the Red Sox finally win the World Series, I’ve seen remarkable change on the front page—much of it sparked by people your age. At lunch counters, in the streets and now on the Internet—young people have been at the vanguard of every great advance of American progress—the heart of every social and political movement of the last hundred years from civil rights to veterans’ rights to immigrant’s rights to women’s rights.
You might ask yourself: What did they have that I don’t have? Well I’ll tell you—absolutely nothing. Students just like the Class of 2008 have changed the world before, and you can bet they’ll do it again.
But they didn’t do it by sitting on their hands. They didn’t do it by cheering on things as they were. They didn’t do it just by laughing along with The Onion or “The Daily Show.” They did it by fighting injustice wherever they saw it. They did it by demanding change. They did it by not taking no for an answer.
There's a lot that's broken in Washington today. And it's good that we can laugh about it. But it's much more important that we fix it—and I see a lot of excitement out there to do just that.
My old friend John Glenn used to say that politics is the personnel department of the Constitution, and more than ever if you don’t like the way the business is going, it’s up to you to work your way into the boardroom and take the reins.
In the 1960s, when I was your age, Bob Dylan asked “How much do I know, to talk out of turn?” You know plenty, Class of 2008—and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not your turn. This country needs to hear your voice.
Change doesn’t happen by accident. It takes work. If you want to change things, speak out - speak out and make your issues the voting issues of this nation.
I remember when you couldn’t even mention environmental issues without a snicker. But then in the 70s people got tired of seeing the Cuyahoga River catch on fire from all the chemicals. So one day millions of Americans marched. Politicians had no choice but to take notice. Twelve Congressmen were dubbed the Dirty Dozen, and soon after seven were kicked out of office. The floodgates were opened. We got The Clean Air Act, The Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water. We created the EPA. The quality of life improved because concerned citizens made their issues matter in elections.
So it's up to you now to speak out if you want to restore a politics of big ideas, not small-minded attacks.
Speak out if you’re tired of dirty air and dirty politics.
Speak out if you are tired of elected officials who believe the global warming is fake and that weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were real.
The job of citizens is to speak out so loudly that Washington has no choice but to start responding to the real needs and the real issues of each and every one of you.
I urge you: carve out some time in your life to be a citizen. Don’t just vote. As you graduate, continue to find a way to part of your communities and take part in a cause. Find a cause greater than yourself that captures your imagination, and go after it.
I know in the age we live in this isn't easy. You'll meet resistance. You'll find plenty of people who think you should just keep your mouths shut or that by speaking out you're somehow less than patriotic. But that's not really new either.
When we protested the war in Vietnam, some would weigh in against us saying: “My country right or wrong.” Our response was simple: “Yes, my country right or wrong. When right, keep it right and when wrong, make it right.”
Graduates of the Class of 2008, that's the mission of citizens again today—to get off our rear ends—go out—and make it right today. And I know that's exactly what you can and will do. Congratulations and God bless.
