This is an excerpt one of my favorite graduation speeches, by Maine State Senator Susan Collins, in May 2011. I have always appreciated Senator Collins' bipartisan representation of Maine, and after hearing this grad speech, I like her even more!
Over the years, I have learned two things about giving commencement speeches:
The first is to be brief. I am well aware that this ceremony is the last thing that stands between you and a celebration with family and friends.
The second is to try to leave you with a message that I hope will be part of your graduation day memories and possibly even somewhat helpful in your journey through life. But I approach this goal mindful of the fact that I remember nothing about the speaker for my own college graduation – not even his name, much less what he said. So here goes.
America has a maritime tradition of branding each ship with its own motto. One ship in our nation’s fleet bears this distinctive motto: “Find the Good and Praise It.” That ship is a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter named in honor of Alex Haley.
You may recall that Alex Haley wrote the historical novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. It told the story of his ancestors who were kidnapped from The Gambia in Africa and brought to this country as slaves. His book was made into a landmark television mini-series that taught many of us much about the African-American struggle for freedom and equality.
“Find the Good and Praise It” was the personal motto Alex Haley, this grandson of slaves. My Senate colleague Lamar Alexander, who knew Alex Haley well, calls him the most positive person he’d ever known.
But you may ask: Was the guiding principle of Alex Haley’s life the notion that his only obligation was to recognize what is good and to say something nice about it?
Certainly not. Mr. Haley realized that recognizing what is good and praising it encourages others to join in “the good.” To Alex Haley, “the good” wasn’t simply what is pleasant. It is what is worthwhile, what makes us better people, better citizens, a better nation.
Alex Haley was not a bystander, a mere observer. He experienced life to its fullest. He exuded joy – that is how he lived his life.
That is one of the most important choices we all can make in our lives. We can spend our time criticizing everything that is wrong with society or our government.
Or we can follow the example of Alex Haley, who acknowledged our country’s shortcomings and experienced racism first-hand, but who would not join with those who were constantly finding fault with America. He constantly sought what was good and praised it.
Alex Haley would urge all of us to devote ourselves to finding and advancing – praising – that which is good and to join in the cause.
This grandson of slaves made the right choice. Yet too often today, people choose not to pursue the positive but make the choice to attack, to belittle, and to accuse.
We see this in our coarsened political discourse. In Congress we have heard a Republican yell “You lie” at the President, while a Democrat described the Republican health care policy as wanting people to “Die quickly!”
Citizen rallies too often become shouting matches rather than civil debates over difficult issues.
Historians would tell you that the degree of civility in Congress has ebbed and flowed over the years and would point out that at least we don’t have one member caning another into unconsciousness as happened in 1856 when Representative Brooks of South Carolina flogged Senator Sumner of Massachusetts on the Senate floor. But in modern times, I have not seen the degree of bitter divisiveness and excessive partisanship now found in Washington. The weapon of choice today is not a metal-topped cane, but poisonous words.
And we see this same trend in society, from bullying in schools to the anonymous, crude insults that fill the vast expanses of the Internet. Whether the decline of civility in Washington has led to the decline of civility in the rest of the country, or vice versa, is irrelevant. We all have a responsibility to turn back this destructive tide. We all have a stake in a society that can work together to solve problems. We all must do our part to elevate the tone and respect one another as part of our greater community.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t recognize evil in the world or speak out against injustice and wrong-doing. But we must not lose sight of what is good.
So my challenge to you, adapted from Alex Haley, is to “Find the good, praise it, and join it.”
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