WOW! Ya got to love Anna Quindlen!
We went to the Million Mom March, seems like yesterday, and the main quote that I remember from all the speeches was one during Anna Quindlen's speech: "And if they ask you why we should have gun control, you quote what every mom has said at one time or another throughout the ages; Because I Said So!!". The crowd roared. On our way to the car we saw a protest sign with those words abandoned on a wall and we've had it in our house ever since.
Another quotes: All parents should be aware that when they mock or curse gay people, they may be mocking or cursing their own child.
One more quote, ok it's more like an excerpt, from a Anna Quindlen commencement speech... of course I'd widen the age range:
"Whether you are 24 or 54, begin today to say no to the Greek chorus that thinks it knows the parameters of a happy life when all it really knows is the homogenization of human existence. We need to eschew that way of being today more than ever before, to the extent that we have defined ourselves sometimes in this nation in terms of false gods. We have to turn toward the true because perhaps soon the true will be all we will have. There was once a forward march in this country, ditch digger to cop to lawyer to judge in four generations, that’s how we learned it in Irish households. Our children would do better than we had done. But maybe we’ve topped out and that progression is no longer true. I think in some ways this is a very good thing. Because perhaps we will learn to redefine what doing better really means. After all, it’s hard to escape the notion that we have sometimes become spoiled and a little lost. People who once thought that TV was a miracle now feel impoverished if there isn’t one in every room, then wonder why their kids don’t read more.
Twenty years ago we’d never heard of the Internet. Ten years ago most of us had never gone online and today we go ballistic if we can’t sign on in seconds. You millennials, bombarded by a culture that sends you so many divergent messages—to wear khakis, to smoke cigarettes, to live clean, to drink Bud, to take jobs your parents hate, to pierce your navels, to dye your hair, to have casual sex but seek enduring love—have had to puzzle out for yourselves what truly has meaning. That is disconcerting, difficult, and wonderful. Socratic is better than rote. Discussion teaches more than dictums and paths set in stone are, as we’ve discovered, often rocky when we move along them. By giving us a model of individuality, tolerance, adventure, and risk-taking you have already taught us a good deal about living fulfilled in the future. You’re the bungee-jumping generation.
We could never do it ourselves but our hearts leap and our adrenaline rises at the sight of all of you, arms outstretched, poised to do—what? Something great. Camus wrote: “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.” So: follow Camus, go. Party hearty. Sleep late. Work hard. Love someone better than yourself. Give all to the present and the future will take care of itself. The future has already done so, I am convinced, because I look out at all of you today and I see the future and it looks so good.
Samuel Butler once said, “Life is like playing a violin in solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes along.” That sounds terrifying, doesn’t it, and difficult too. But somehow you have always known that that way lies music. Look in the mirror tonight. Who is that man? Who is that woman? She is the work of your life. He is its greatest glory, not some out there, they, view of what he or she ought to be. I know you will not dare to diss them by dressing them up in someone else’s spiritual clothing. So pick up your violin and lift your bow and play, play your heart out, live well, because you are our role models."
Another quotes: All parents should be aware that when they mock or curse gay people, they may be mocking or cursing their own child.
One more quote, ok it's more like an excerpt, from a Anna Quindlen commencement speech... of course I'd widen the age range:
"Whether you are 24 or 54, begin today to say no to the Greek chorus that thinks it knows the parameters of a happy life when all it really knows is the homogenization of human existence. We need to eschew that way of being today more than ever before, to the extent that we have defined ourselves sometimes in this nation in terms of false gods. We have to turn toward the true because perhaps soon the true will be all we will have. There was once a forward march in this country, ditch digger to cop to lawyer to judge in four generations, that’s how we learned it in Irish households. Our children would do better than we had done. But maybe we’ve topped out and that progression is no longer true. I think in some ways this is a very good thing. Because perhaps we will learn to redefine what doing better really means. After all, it’s hard to escape the notion that we have sometimes become spoiled and a little lost. People who once thought that TV was a miracle now feel impoverished if there isn’t one in every room, then wonder why their kids don’t read more.
Twenty years ago we’d never heard of the Internet. Ten years ago most of us had never gone online and today we go ballistic if we can’t sign on in seconds. You millennials, bombarded by a culture that sends you so many divergent messages—to wear khakis, to smoke cigarettes, to live clean, to drink Bud, to take jobs your parents hate, to pierce your navels, to dye your hair, to have casual sex but seek enduring love—have had to puzzle out for yourselves what truly has meaning. That is disconcerting, difficult, and wonderful. Socratic is better than rote. Discussion teaches more than dictums and paths set in stone are, as we’ve discovered, often rocky when we move along them. By giving us a model of individuality, tolerance, adventure, and risk-taking you have already taught us a good deal about living fulfilled in the future. You’re the bungee-jumping generation.
We could never do it ourselves but our hearts leap and our adrenaline rises at the sight of all of you, arms outstretched, poised to do—what? Something great. Camus wrote: “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.” So: follow Camus, go. Party hearty. Sleep late. Work hard. Love someone better than yourself. Give all to the present and the future will take care of itself. The future has already done so, I am convinced, because I look out at all of you today and I see the future and it looks so good.
Samuel Butler once said, “Life is like playing a violin in solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes along.” That sounds terrifying, doesn’t it, and difficult too. But somehow you have always known that that way lies music. Look in the mirror tonight. Who is that man? Who is that woman? She is the work of your life. He is its greatest glory, not some out there, they, view of what he or she ought to be. I know you will not dare to diss them by dressing them up in someone else’s spiritual clothing. So pick up your violin and lift your bow and play, play your heart out, live well, because you are our role models."
posted by adam_styles at 2:45 AM
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