PERSPECTIVE l Put Aside the Shallowness, Hollowness of Self

by M. Jodi Rell A few words as we send you on your way to the rest of your life. A list of do's and don'ts, if you will.

Do continue your learning. Get an advanced degree. It's almost mandatory these days. Take a couple of years off if you need to, but go back and get a master’s degree or higher. Do it not just for a better job but for a better mind.

Whether you go back or not, keep learning. Keep asking questions. Keep finding out why. Demand to know why not. Expand your experiences and your minds. Let intellectual curiosity be your constant companion.

Do keep every door open to yourselves. Never say never. Always try something new — a new idea, a new place, new travel, new friends, new opportunities. This girl from Norfolk, Virginia, never would have guessed she would be the governor of Connecticut one day. But I left every door open — and look where it led me.

Don't let fear guide you. Don't let failure stop you.

This is your moment. Take it. Own it. Master it. Make the most of it.

Trust me, you really can change the world. And we need you to change it, because our world is changing in so many ways, and at WARP speed.

Our economy, the job market, technology, education, health care — all are evolving, advancing every day.

Frankly the pace of change is breathtaking. Yes, breathtaking and challenging. But nobody is better prepared, better equipped to rise to the challenge.

Do remember to always treat those around you with respect, compassion and kindness. Don't let the size of your paycheck be the measure of your success. Rather let it be how well you treat others and what kind of difference you make.

Do remember to say thank you. And you can start today by thanking your parents, your advisers, your professors — all those who helped you to get to this day.

Do work hard. Play hard. And love harder.

It's not just about a job or a job title. Yes a good, satisfying, rewarding job is important. But far, far more important is grabbing and enjoying life and building a family whom you love and who loves you.

Participate in your community. Volunteer. Contribute. Put aside the shallowness, hollowness of self. Embrace and elevate others.

Think about the person you love the most. Admire the most. Think about why. And then do. Do as they do.

Oh, I envy each one of you. You are on the precipice of a whole new beginning. The canvas of your life is mostly blank, waiting now for you to fill it in with flourish and flair. With broad strokes and fine lines. With love and laughter.

This is your moment. Take it. Own it. Master it. Make the most of it. You are the sons and daughters of Connecticut. We are all so proud of you.

M. Jodi Rell of Brookfield was Governor of Connecticut, 2004-2011, after serving as Lieutenant Governor and State Representative. These remarks are excerpted from the commencement address delivered to undergraduates at Western Connecticut State University on May 10, 2015.

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CT by the Numbers publishes opinion articles of 600 words or less.  Submissions should be emailed to info@ctbythenumbers.info.  Perspectives are published at the discretion of CT by the Numbers. 

The Comfort of Opinion Without the Discomfort of Thought

by John F. Kennedy …The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie—deliberate, contrived, and dishonest—but the myth—persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Mythology distracts us everywhere—in government as in business, in politics as in economics, in foreign affairs as in domestic affairs… In recent months many have come to feel, as I do, that the dialog between the parties—between business and government, between the government and the public—is clogged by illusion and platitude and fails to reflect the true realities of contemporary American society…

There are three great areas of our domestic affairs in which, today, there is a danger that illusion may prevent effective action. They are, first, the question of the size and the shape of government's responsibilities; second, the question of public fiscal policy; and third, the matter of confidence, business confidence or public confidence, or simply confidence in America. I want to talk about all three, and I want to talk about them carefully and dispassionately—and I emphasize that I am concerned here not with political debate but with finding ways to separate false problems from real ones.

If a contest in angry argument were forced upon it, no administration could shrink from response, and history does not suggest that American Presidents are totally without resources in an engagement forced upon them because of hostility in one sector of society. But in the wider national interest, we need not partisan wrangling but common concentration on common problems. I come here to this distinguished university to ask you to join in this great task.

Let us take first the question of the size and shape of government. The myth here is that government is big, and bad—and steadily getting bigger and worse. Obviously this myth has some excuse for existence. It is true that in recent history each new administration has spent much more money than its predecessor. Thus President Roosevelt outspent President Hoover, and with allowances for the special case of the Second World War, President Truman outspent President Roosevelt. Just to prove that this was not a partisan matter, President Eisenhower then outspent President Truman by the handsome figure of $182 billion. It is even possible, some think, that this trend may continue…

The truth about big government is the truth about any other great activity—it is complex. Certainly it is true that size brings dangers—but it is also true that size can bring benefits… Few people realize that in 1961, in support of all university research in science and medicine, three dollars out of every four came from the Federal Government… Generalities in regard to federal expenditures, therefore, can be misleading—each case, science, urban renewal, education, agriculture, natural resources, each case must be determined on its merits if we are to profit from our unrivaled ability to combine the strength of public and private purpose…

Finally, I come to the problem of confidence. Confidence is a matter of myth and also a matter of truth—and this time let me take the truth of the matter first.

It is true—and of high importance—that the prosperity of this country depends on the assurance that all major elements within it will live up to their responsibilities. If business were to neglect its obligations to the public, if labor were blind to all public responsibility, above all, if government were to abandon its obvious—and statutory—duty of watchful concern for our economic health-if any of these things should happen, then confidence might well be weakened and the danger of stagnation would increase. This is the true issue of confidence.

But there is also the false issue—and its simplest form is the assertion that any and all unfavorable turns of the speculative wheel—however temporary and however plainly speculative in character—are the result of, and I quote, "a lack of confidence in the national administration." This I must tell you, while comforting, is not wholly true. Worse, it obscures the reality—which is also simple. The solid ground of mutual confidence is the necessary partnership of government with all of the sectors of our society in the steady quest for economic progress…

The stereotypes I have been discussing distract our attention and divide our effort. These stereotypes do our Nation a disservice, not just because they are exhausted and irrelevant, but above all because they are misleading—because they stand in the way of the solution of hard and complicated facts…the unfortunate fact of the matter is that our rhetoric has not kept pace with the speed of social and economic change. Our political debates, our public discourse—on current domestic and economic issues—too often bear little or no relation to the actual problems the United States faces.

What is at stake in our economic decisions today is not some grand warfare of rival ideologies which will sweep the country with passion but the practical management of a modern economy… we require not some automatic response but hard thought…let us not engage in the wrong argument at the wrong time…while the real problems of our own time grow and multiply, fertilized by our neglect.

You are part of the world and you must participate in these days of our years in the solution of the problems that pour upon us, requiring the most sophisticated and technical judgment; and as we work in consonance to meet the authentic problems of our times, we will generate a vision and an energy which will demonstrate anew to the world the superior vitality and the strength of the free society.

President John F. Kennedy delivered the Commencement Address at Yale University on June 11, 1962, from which this is excerpted.  The text of the full address, and an audio recording, is at http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/speech-3370   

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CT by the Numbers publishes opinion articles of 600 words or less.  Submissions should be emailed to info@ctbythenumbers.info.  Perspectives are published at the discretion of CT by the Numbers.