"ACC Spring Commencement 2017" Courtesy of Austin Community College: Licence (CC BY 2.0)
Education
Commencement: What Politicians Want the Class of 2017 to Know
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of students nationwide walked across football fields, basketball courts, and stages to receive their diplomas. They sat patiently, sporting caps and gowns in their school colors, while professors, politicians, CEOs, and celebrities imparted wisdom, jokes, and life lessons upon them. Here are the commencement speeches from politicians that will be flooding your newsfeeds for the next month.
Like Clinton, former Secretary of State John Kerry used his remarks at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government as a chance to break a relative silence on the Trump Administration.
He opened with a series of jokes about scandals coming out of the Trump Administration, like ties to Russia and positions that have yet to be filled.
“I’ve been asked, ‘What is the secret to have a real impact on government?’” he said. “I used to say, ‘Either run for office or get a degree from the Harvard Kennedy School. With this White House, I’d say, ‘Buy Rosetta Stone and learn Russian.’”
Kerry highlighted a number of Trump’s policies and actions, saying they are “not normal,” such as the firing of FBI director James Comey.
“This is not a normal time,” he said. “It’s not normal for the leader of the country that invented the first amendment to routinely degrade and even threaten journalists…It’s not normal that when you close your eyes and listen to the news, too often the political back and forth in America sounds too much like it does in the kinds of countries that the State Department warns Americans not to travel to.”
Kerry spoke on several hot button issues, like the threat of extremism, the massive loss of jobs to technology, and the economic strain that many Americans face even years after the 2008 financial crisis. He spoke extensively on the importance of prioritizing solutions to climate change. He said that withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement would have “enormous negative reverberations” around the globe.
Still, Kerry said he is optimistic about the ability of Americans to turn “difficult situations into progress,” as they have throughout the country’s history.
“It’s in the struggle for the future that you graduates need to put your energy and your idealism,” he said. “We need to shake the free world out of its slumber and wrestle with what’s really coming at us.”
His closing charge to graduates was simple–disturb the universe.
“Never underestimate the power that you have and the extraordinary privilege found in one seven-letter word–citizen,” Kerry said. “It’s your responsibility to disturb the universe, and make our world right, right now.”
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg also spoke at Harvard’s commencement, a move that many say is an indication that the hoodie-wearing CEO may be considering a 2020 presidential run.
Comments