Graduation. More of Rob's personal raincloud.
Re: Graduation Speeches
Dear Speakers,
The world does not need me any more than it needs someone without a college degree. Getting a degree from Earlham does not imply some kind of moral superiority. If you want to pat us on the back, find a better way. If you want to say the world needs people who care about it, say that. If you want to exhort us to be those people, please do. But for the love of God, I find the implication that Earlham has somehow brought us this worth unbearably arrogant. It is a strange fact that enlightened people do not wander around thinking "God, I'm so enlightened!" or "Wow, I sure am glad that whole 'struggle for wisdom' thing is finished!" There is no end in sight for human suffering. There is no reason to be patting everyone on the back and telling them how great and caring they are when there's a thousand evils in the world we haven't even tried to do something about, have ignored in favour of video games or schoolwork.
I'm not denying that people have grown, and changed, and become wiser in their time here. I'm not denying that it is the people of Earlham who have helped them to do so. But the thought that simply by going to Earlham, a person will have some kind of conscience instilled into them is patently ridiculous.
Dear Speakers,
The world does not need me any more than it needs someone without a college degree. Getting a degree from Earlham does not imply some kind of moral superiority. If you want to pat us on the back, find a better way. If you want to say the world needs people who care about it, say that. If you want to exhort us to be those people, please do. But for the love of God, I find the implication that Earlham has somehow brought us this worth unbearably arrogant. It is a strange fact that enlightened people do not wander around thinking "God, I'm so enlightened!" or "Wow, I sure am glad that whole 'struggle for wisdom' thing is finished!" There is no end in sight for human suffering. There is no reason to be patting everyone on the back and telling them how great and caring they are when there's a thousand evils in the world we haven't even tried to do something about, have ignored in favour of video games or schoolwork.
I'm not denying that people have grown, and changed, and become wiser in their time here. I'm not denying that it is the people of Earlham who have helped them to do so. But the thought that simply by going to Earlham, a person will have some kind of conscience instilled into them is patently ridiculous.