My address will emphasize the three bullets below. The complete text is ready to be delivered the moment Harvard invites me. I decided not to include the full form here for two reasons. First, it keeps the post to a manageable and likely-to-be-read-in-full length. Second, years of studying and teaching public speaking have consistently reinforced for me the "power of three". No need to adhere to this arbitrary guideline when you comment.
* Be kind.
* Put down your phone regularly.
* Before repeating or further publicizing something you read on the Internet, heard in a podcast, or learned of via social media, take some time to verify its accuracy.
Full Harvard-ready text available upon request.
Great topic. I think I would go back to a line from Dante’s Divine Comedy-the same line that scientist and author Primo Levi claimed kept him alive in a concentration camp. To sum it up loosely-it says” Remember who you are! You are not an animal but a man….”
ReplyDeleteI think, sometimes, in our worst moments we have to remember who we are- and what we are not —our failures etc. And I would also tell them to put their phones!
Regina; Thanks for the comment and for bringing Levi's words back to the top of my consciousness. And double thanks for ratifying my idea re the phones. As soon as I respond to the other comments recently received on my blog, I'm headed for Suffering School.
DeleteAs I wrote in my memoir, I kept journals for my three children for 18 years. In the final entry I gave them my goals for living a good life: Be kind; be honest (especially with yourself); work hard; try to be happy. 13 words. It seemed like enough. I'm wondering how many Harvard grads or those in any other college would actually be put down their phones long enough to listen to you or me or anyone else.
ReplyDeleteJim; Thanks for your comment and reminding me of the 13 words you shared with your children. Those are surely words to live by. And though I too wonder if any college graduates these days would put down their phones long enough to hear my commencement speech, I'm afraid for many others as well and what they could be missing being so attached to a device. For all the benefits they confer, cell phones have changed the way many people interact with the world, their friends, and their loved ones. I know I'm in the minority in my resistance to this scourge but I'm committed to continuing that resistance.
Delete