It's commencement time across America. And we'll be treated to some of the best (and worst) of the speeches in the media.
My daughter graduated from the University of Iowa this year. Her commencement address was given by a "non-traditional" student who had completed 20 years in the military. It was wonderful.
You've probably heard Van & Bonnie talking about the speaker at Moorehouse University pledging to pay off all the graduates' student loan debt.
Apple's Tim Cook is offering some valuable advice to Tulane University graduates.
The CEO delivered the university's commencement speech at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Saturday. One of the most notable things Cook said was that his generation, the Baby Boomers, has failed Generation Z. The CEO noted that his generation has spent too much time debating and fighting and not enough time on progress. He said now it's up to Generation Z to clean up the messes the Boomers have left behind.
Another piece of advice the Apple leader shared was to be more open to others, and recognize the problems that others face. “In a world where you obsessively document our own lives, we don’t pay attention to what we owe each other. It’s about recognizing human civilization began when we realized we could do more together.”
The most poignant comment hit to the core of division’s effect in the world now. “We spent too much time debating, too focused on the fight and not enough on progress.”
Two thoughts on his remarks:
1) I tire of these speeches in which we say "our generation" has let down "the younger generation." The past few decades have been an unparalleled time of progress and prosperity.
2) I agree that there's too much debate and not enough movement on key issues - but does Cook think THIS generation will be better at that???? I have a theory about social media: most people use it to virtue-signal their moral and intellectual superiority over others. They view that in itself as an accomplishment - they don't actually DO anything about the issues we discuss on the show. Why would we think this generation will be BETTER at problem solving?