Tuesday, June 11, 2002

The whiners at Dartmouth, over the selection of Fred Rogers to give the commencement speech, is a perfect microcosm of the problem with the Left. There is no other figure in our nation who has more embodied multi-culturalism and understanding but he is not a cutting edge dissenter who hates America or would come out in his speech and attack people. He is a positive person while many of the new left are focussed exclusively on the negative. Then he comes out and gives a speech that was excellent. The screechers should feel nothing but shame but of course that doesn't fit in with doing what feels good so they will soon forget and move on to the next person they want to denounce.

Just a taste:

I'd like to give you all an invisible gift. A gift of a silent minute to think about those who have helped you become who you are today. Some of them may be here right now. Some may be far away. Some, like my astronomy professor, may even be in Heaven. But wherever they are, if they've loved you and encouraged you and wanted what was best in life for you, they're right inside yourself. And I feel that you deserve quiet time on this special occasion to devote some thought to them. So let's just take a minute in honor of those who have cared about us all along the way. One silent minute.

Whomever you've been thinking about, imagine how grateful they must be that during your silent times you remember how important they are to you. It's not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It's the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our lives from which we make our choices is very good stuff.

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