estertown, marylan 233 Commencement of Washington College DMR Address Washington College Campus Lawn; Chestertown, Maryland Saturday, May 21, 2016

Transcription

1 washington college c h e s t e r t o w n, m a r y l a n d David M. Rubenstein 233 rd Commencement of Washington College DMR Address Washington College Campus Lawn; Chestertown, Maryland Saturday, May 21, 2016 In a few short moments, the members of the Class of 2016 will receive their well-earned degrees, and begin a new chapter in their lives. Congratulations to those who worked hard to get their degrees, and particular congratulations to those who figured out how to get their degrees without working very hard. And congratulations as well to the parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and also the professors who helped to make this occasion possible. Hopefully you will hear thanks not only today, but also for many years into the future for your help in making this day possible. Most likely, those of you who are graduating today feel, as you embark on your future lives and careers, that you are leaving Washington College behind. In your view, the College is about to be in your rearview mirror. In reality, that will not be the case. In reality, you will be linked with Washington College for the rest of your lives, for wherever you go in the world or whatever you do, you will inevitably be asked by anyone you meet socially or professionally what is your name, where are you from, and where did you go to college. And that is a very good thing for today s graduates, because you went to a college with a great history, and one which gave you a first-rate liberal arts education in a beautiful, historic setting with faculty members who actually enjoy teaching. It is also a good thing as well because you will forever carry the name Washington with you, and there can be few greater honors and few greater responsibilities than that. Why is it an honor? Of course it is an honor to graduate from our country s only college or university which is not only named for George Washington, but also on whose Board of Trustees George Washington actually served and I might add served with pleasure and commitment to the College s success.

2 It is also an honor to graduate from this College because of the unique achievements of the man for whom the College is proudly named. And those achievements were not, as some think, chopping down a cherry tree and not lying about it (that never happened); or throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac (also not true); or living a life with wooden teeth (also false, though Washington did manage to live much of his adult life with only one real tooth). Washington s real achievements were ones which really made it possible for all of us to be here today in a country which has, despite its flaws, the unique and attractive characteristics which make the country the envy of most of the world. In a eulogy delivered on the floor of Congress shortly after George Washington died, Light- Horse Harry Lee, a fellow Revolutionary war hero and the father of Robert E. Lee, described Washington as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. At that time, perhaps no sentence better described Washington s legacy. But today, using more modern terms, Washington is perhaps best seen as an entrepreneur, as a creator. But he created not a company, but more than any single one of the other Founding Fathers he created a country. And like a good serial entrepreneur, and a good creator, he demonstrated the necessary skill to do so repeatedly, for Washington effectively created, by necessity, this country three separate times. And each creation was necessary if there were to be any chance for us to be here today enjoying the benefits of the extraordinary United States of America. Let me explain. Washington effectively created the country first by agreeing to serve, with no salary, with few troops, and with long odds against success, as Commander of our country s Revolutionary War army. For eight years, against the world s greatest military power, Washington trained and led an army drawn from the simple farming and working people of America most of whom had no prior military experience, and nearly all of whom were badly equipped, improperly clothed, and rarely paid. And the ultimate victory essentially created our country, and it was universally recognized then that no other American at that time had the military training, leadership skills, or strength of moral character to have produced this victory. Without Washington we might be a part of the British Commonwealth; and while there are worse fates to be sure, we certainly would not have been able to develop this unique country to its full potential or its current state. And I might add that George Washington, to his credit unlike nearly every other successful military leader in history, gave up his power after the military victory and went back to Mount Vernon to merely assume what he regarded as our country s better role private citizen. Upon hearing that George Washington was walking away from the power which inevitably accrued to victorious generals, King George III Washington s rival said that, if these reports were true, Washington was the greatest man on the face of the earth. They were and he was. But sadly, the country created by Washington s military victory did not really work. The Articles of Confederation governing the new country did not allow an effective national government; the Federal Government really had no ability to raise funds, discharge debts, build an army, or deal with foreign relations. Recognizing this, Washington agreed to return to public service to help create a new system of government, and in doing so, Washington provided the

3 country with another entrepreneurial venture, his second creation the U.S. Constitution. Of course, there are many who deserve credit for the Constitution, perhaps most particularly James Madison. But it was clear then that there would not have been enough support for the Constitution to be approved at the Convention or to be later ratified by the States had Washington not given it his unconditional support by attending the Convention, chairing the Convention, signing the Constitution, and then working behind the scenes for its at times quite uncertain ratification. And thus it was George Washington who really made it possible to create the Constitution, now the legal basis for a government which has lasted 225 years and counting (and a document which is now easily recognized as the world s longest surviving and most treasured constitution). But in truth a third entrepreneurial creation was needed, and Washington provided it as well. The Constitution envisioned an Executive Branch led by a President a unique and unprecedented office at that time. Although reluctant to serve at what he regarded as a very advanced age 57 (few men in his family had made it to that age) Washington ultimately did agree to serve, and in his eight years effectively created the U.S. Presidency. And he did so without any precedent. Today, so many of the traditions and activities of the Presidency were created by Washington, and they shaped this important office. And without a Presidency of the type created by Washington, it is clear that our other great Presidents Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Reagan, among so many others could not have led this country. Washington created the Cabinet. Washington created the President s foreign policy role. Washington created the manner by which Presidents interact with Congress, and with the people. Washington even created the title for the office Mr. President. And he also created, most visibly, the city in which the President and the rest of our Federal Government are based. I cite these acts of entrepreneurial activity or creation by George Washington not because they are probably unknown to you (hopefully, all of you have had some American history courses). And I cite them not because I am trying to motivate you to create your own country, Constitution, and Presidency though I would not of course want to restrain your ambitions. And I cite them not because Washington was a perfect person he was actually not a great military tactician (and lost more battles than he won); he was not educated in any traditional sense no high school or college degree; he rarely wrote his major policy statements; he was very aloof and stand-offish; he had, at times, a terrible temper; he failed in his biggest business venture; he was perpetually in debt; and, worse, he was a large slave-owner. But no human is perfect, and I cite Washington s failings to make you understand that you do not need to be a perfect person to follow Washington s lead. And I cite Washington s creations for they outweigh his flaws and his creations should make you proud that now you will carry his name with you for the rest of your life. And I cite Washington s creations in part because I hope you will feel some motivation and some responsibility, like Washington, to give back to your country, to help make your country a better place, to do so when it may not always be convenient, to focus not only on what is in your

4 best interests, but what is in your country s best interests. And that country does not have to be this country. Whatever country you are from, give back, improve, help reduce discrimination and inequality, help those who cannot help themselves, leave a legacy for future generations, make your parents and your children proud of what you have done with your relatively limited time on the face of this earth. In the case of America, our forebears, including most especially George Washington, gave us a country with unique strengths and freedoms and opportunities. But they are imperfect and need to be improved. You have it within your grasp and responsibility to do so. I know that today all of you who are graduating are focusing on getting that diploma, celebrating a bit (maybe a lot), and then beginning the next stage of your life perhaps a job, perhaps additional schooling, perhaps just chilling out for awhile. Whatever course you are pursuing, try not to focus only on your career, your wealth, your personal happiness, and your own personal needs. Those are, to be sure, important considerations. But try as well to begin focusing on your responsibilities to others and most particularly on your responsibilities to your country. You will find your life infinitely more enjoyable and rewarding. Trust me, in my own efforts admittedly modest and not yet complete nothing has been so rewarding (certainly not the making of money) as giving back to my country and trying to do what I can do to help make the country a better country. And you have it within your power and grasp to do the same to make the country a better one, through the use of your skills and talents in whatever area you choose. Remember what George Washington did. He sacrificed for this country. He did not really want to spend eight years fighting what seemed a hopeless and potentially life-threatening war. He did not really want to return to the public arena to orchestrate a new government. And he did not really want to serve eight days as President, let alone eight years. But he did all of these things at great personal and financial sacrifice to ensure a better country for future generations, and to give back to the country for the blessings that he already enjoyed in life. You can do the same perhaps on a smaller scale. But perhaps on a bigger scale. There are no inherent limits to what you can achieve or on what you can give back to your country. I would like to think George Washington agreed to serve on this College s Board, and to support it financially, because he hoped its graduates might follow his lead, and do whatever they realistically could through full-time or part-time actions, through financial support, through their energy and their ideas, through their leadership to make the country of his dreams a reality. Now, you might wonder how I can think I know what George Washington was hoping for Washington College graduates. Well, I was not honestly sure I did know until a few days ago when a letter appeared on my ipad. Let me read it to you:

5 To My Friends at Washington College, I agreed to join the Board of Washington College because I thought the College was unique. It was small, focused on teaching, and preparing our youth to become citizens. And to me, being a citizen means taking on the benefits of citizenship as well as the responsibilities of citizenship. In my own case, I know that my wife and family would have preferred that I stay home, tend to my farm, and leave to others the ordeals of trying to create a country of which my family and I, my fellow citizens, and the many future generations to come could feel was worthy of a free nation. I never regretted for a moment the sacrifices that I had to endure, for I felt a responsibility to do more with my life than lead a pleasant but in the end inconsequential life. I felt that I needed to get into the arena, as one of my successors would say, and to make a difference. My hope is that the graduates of Washington College will feel a similar obligation and responsibility to get into the arena, full-time or part-time, early or later in life, but at some point to take pride in their country and to try to make it better. I hope today s graduates will resolve to do that. It would make an old man very happy, and make me feel that my service on the Washington College Board and my providing my name to the College was a very wise decision, indeed perhaps one of my wisest and most rewarding decisions. I cannot talk to you directly from where I now reside. But I can certainly follow closely what you are doing, and I will be doing so as you lead your lives. To the graduates of the Class of 2016, please make me proud. Most respectfully, George Washington

6 I cannot improve on the words of George Washington, and will therefore not try. But one of his successors, also a war hero and also someone who could easily have chosen to stay in private life, was able to capture George Washington s basic message of the importance, even at some personal sacrifice, of trying to give back to your country, and thereby make your country and the world a better place. That successor, John F. Kennedy, who ultimately gave during his public service the last full measure of devotion to his country, asked Americans, in his poetic inaugural address, to ask not what the country could do for them, but rather what they could for their country. Perhaps President Kennedy was inspired in part to ask that question by his review of George Washington s life as he prepared for his visit to Washington College when beginning his campaign in Maryland in But whatever the source of the inspiration for this key line in Kennedy s inaugural address, the basic message, given largely to a new generation of Americans, resonated deeply with my own generation, and with me. But that message spoken so eloquently by John Kennedy and lived, much earlier, so eloquently by George Washington applies to the generation sitting before me and to those sitting before commencement speakers throughout this land, East and West, South and North. Give back to your country. Think about what you can do to make your country a better place. Do so early and late in your life. Never forget that your country s ultimate fate and that the future of your country depends on its citizens thinking more than about themselves and their personal well-being. It is your responsibility, as a new generation of citizens, to build on what George Washington created for you and for your family. And I believe all of you who are graduating today have a particular responsibility to give back to your country. For you, to a greater extent than other new graduates, now carry the name Washington with you and you will for the rest of your life. Wear that name proudly at all times. And like Washington, you too can stand in the docket of history, and accept the responsibility of being not only a citizen, but a citizen with the special bond to George Washington and all that he created and represents. Do not shrink from this responsibility. Welcome it. Cherish it. Take joy in it. Make George Washington and his College proud. John Kennedy ended his extraordinary inaugural address with these words: With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God s work must truly be our own. Giving back to your country is surely God s work on this earth. Never forget that as you travel through life. But today, just pause to thank those who made it possible for you to graduate. I am confident that even George Washington, and also John Kennedy, would agree that today is a day to celebrate. You have their permission no doubt to begin your life s journey to help your country tomorrow. Congratulations to the Class of 2016.