On May 12, 2018, Michael R. Bloomberg served
as Commencement Speaker at the Rice University commencement ceremony. These are
his remarks as delivered.
“David thank you for those kind words.
“Good morning, everyone and Members of the
Board, faculty, staff, parents and family – it really is an honor to be with
you to celebrate the great Class of 2018. How about a nice round of applause
for them again?
“Today, you’re ready to go ‘beyond the
hedges’ -- and who knows what the future holds for you.
“Rice alumni have been Nobel Prize winners,
cabinet members, astronauts, titans of industry, award-winning artists, and
everything in between -- including the two scientists who discovered Bucky
balls.
“And I’m glad to say that one member of the
Class of 2018 has already begun working for my company, bringing the total
number of Owls at Bloomberg LP to 13, so I’m doing my part, and many of you
have similar exciting plans lined up I’m sure, and that's great.
“But if you don't yet know what you're going
to do for the rest of your life, don't spend a lot of time worrying about it.
Leave that to your parents! As excited as they are
today, they'll be even more excited if you don't move back home into their
basement.
“So let's give a big round of applause to all
the parents and families who supported you and made this day possible!
“Now for the serious stuff. When I was
deciding what I really wanted to say today, I kept thinking about a Rice
tradition that's an incredibly important part of student life here. No, I'm not
talking about Willy Week. I'm talking about the honor code.
“When you first arrived on campus for O-week,
you attended a presentation on the Honor Code. Your very first quiz
tested your knowledge of the code, you had to say what it was about, and so
today, I thought it would be fitting for you as graduates to end your time here
the same way you began it: by hearing a few words about the meaning of honor.
“Don't worry: There’s no quiz involved. But
there will be a test when you leave this campus -- one that will last for the
rest of your life. And that's what I want to explain today -- and
it actually starts with the opposite of honor.
“As a New Yorker, I was surprised to learn
that an act of dishonor in my hometown almost blocked Rice from coming into
existence. William Marsh Rice was murdered at his home in Manhattan, just a few
blocks from my company's headquarters, by two schemers who tried to re-write
his will.
“They were caught, his money went where he
wanted it to go, the university was built, and fittingly, an honor code was
created that has been central to student life here from the beginning.
“And ever since you arrived here on campus,
on nearly every test and paper you submitted, you signed a statement that
began, ‘On my honor.’ But have you ever stopped to think about what that phrase
really means?
“The concept of honor has taken on different
meanings through the ages: chivalry, chastity, courage, strength. And when
divorced from morality, or attached to prejudice, honor has been used to
justify murder, and repression, and deceit. But the essence of honor has always
been found in the word itself.
“As those of you who majored in Linguistics
probably know, the words ‘honor’ and ‘honest’ are two sides of the same coin.
In fact, the Latin word ‘honestus’ can mean both ‘honest’ and ‘honorable.’
“To be honorable, you must be honest. And
that means speaking honestly, and acting honestly, even when it requires you to
admit wrongdoing -- and suffer the consequences. The commitment to
honesty is a responsibility that you accepted as an Owl. It is also, I
believe, a patriotic responsibility.
“As young children, one of the first things
we learn about American history is the story of George Washington and the
fallen cherry tree. ‘I cannot tell a lie,’ young George tells his father.
‘I cut it down.’ That story is a legend, of course. But legends are
passed down from generation to generation because they carry some larger truth.
“The cherry tree legend has endured because
it's not really about George Washington. It's about us, as a nation. It's about
what we want for our children -- and what we value in our leaders: honesty.
“We’ve always lionized our two greatest
presidents -- Washington and Lincoln -- not only for their accomplishments, but
also for their honesty. We see their integrity and morals as a reflection
of our honor as a nation.
“However, today when we look at the city that
bears Washington's name, it's hard not to wonder: What the hell happened?
“In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary's
word of the year was ‘post-truth.’ And last year brought us the phrase,
‘alternative facts.’ In essence, they both mean: Up can be down. Black
can be white. True can be false. Feelings can be facts.
“A New York Senator known for working across
the aisle, my old friend Pat Moynihan, once said: ‘People are entitled to their
own opinions, but not their own facts.’ That didn’t used to be a controversial
statement.
“Today, those in politics routinely dismiss
any inconvenient information, no matter how factual, as fake -- and they
routinely say things that are demonstrably false. When authoritarian
regimes around the world did this, we scoffed at them. We thought the American
people would never stand for that!
“For my generation, the plain truth about
America -- the freedom, opportunity, and prosperity we enjoyed -- was our most
powerful advantage in the Cold War. The more communists had access to
real news, the more they would demand freedom. We believed that -- and we
were right.
“Today, though, many of those at the highest
levels of power see the plain truth as a threat. They fear it. They deny it.
And they attack it -- just as the communists once did. And so here we are, in
the midst of an epidemic of dishonesty, and an endless barrage of lies.
“The trend toward elected officials
propagating alternate realities -- or winking at those who do -- is one of the
most serious dangers facing democracies. Free societies depend on citizens who
recognize that deceit in government isn’t something to shrug your shoulders at.
“When elected officials speak as though they
are above the truth, they will act as though they are above the law. And when
we tolerate dishonesty, we get criminality.
“Sometimes, it's in the form of corruption.
Sometimes, it's abuse of power. And sometimes, it's both. If left
unchecked, these abuses can erode the institutions that preserve and protect
our rights and freedoms -- and open the door to tyranny and fascism.
“Now, you might say: There’s always been
deceitful politicians and dishonest politicians -- in both parties. And that's
true. But there is now more tolerance for dishonesty in politics than I
have seen in my lifetime. And I've been alive for one-third of the time
the United States has existed! I know, you find that hard to believe.
So do I, but if you do the math, that’s what it is.
“My generation can tell you: The only
thing more dangerous than dishonest politicians who have no respect for the
law, is a chorus of enablers who defend their every lie.
“Remember: The Honor Code here at Rice just
doesn’t require you to be honest. It requires you to say something if you
saw others acting dishonestly. Now that might be the most difficult part
of an honor code, but it may also be the most important, because violations affect
the whole community.
“And the same is true in our country.
If we want elected officials to be honest, we have to hold them accountable
when they are not -- or else suffer the consequences.
“Now, don't get me wrong: honest people can
disagree. That's what democracy is all about! But productive debate requires an
acceptance of basic reality.
“Take science for example: If 99 percent of
scientists whose research has been peer-reviewed reach the same general
conclusion about a theory, then we ought to accept it as the best available
information -- even if it's not a 100 percent certainty.
“Yes, climate change is only a theory -- just
like gravity is only a theory. And the fact that Newton's theory of motion
didn’t take into account Maxwell’s observations on the speed of electromagnetic
waves as a constant and that Einstein’s special theory of relativity better
described motion when things move very fast -- doesn’t mean that if I let go of
this pen it won’t fall to the ground.
“That, graduates, is not a Chinese hoax. It's
called science -- and we should demand that politicians have the honesty to
respect it.
“Hard though it is to believe, some federal
agencies have actually banned their employees from using the phrase ‘climate
change.’ If censorship solved problems, today we’d all be part of the old USSR,
and the Soviets would have us speaking Russian.
“Of course, it's always good to be skeptical
and ask questions. But we must be willing to place a certain amount of
trust in the integrity of scientists. If you aren’t willing to do that, don't
get on an airplane, don't use a cell phone or microwave, don't get treated in a
hospital, and don’t even think about binge-watching Netflix.
“Scientific discovery permeates practically
every aspect of our lives -- except, too often, our political debates.
“The dishonesty in Washington isn't just
about science, of course. We weren’t tackling so many of the biggest problems
that affect your future – from the lack of good jobs in many communities, to
the prevalence of gun violence, to the threats to the economy and threats to
the environment -- because too many political leaders are being dishonest about
facts and data, and too many people are letting them get away with it.
“So how did we get here? How did we go
from a president who could not tell a lie to politicians who can not tell the
truth? From a George Washington who embodied honesty, to a Washington,
D.C. defined by deceit?
“It’s popular to blame social media for
spreading false information. I for one am totally convinced that Selena
Gomez and Justin Bieber are still dating, but the problem isn't just unreliable
stories. It's also the public's willingness -- even eagerness -- to believe
anything that paints the other side in a bad light. That's extreme
partisanship -- and that is what's fueling and excusing all this dishonesty.
“Extreme partisanship is like an infectious
disease. But instead of crippling the body, it cripples the mind. It
blocks us from understanding the other side. It blinds us from seeing the
strengths in their ideas -- and the weaknesses of our own. And it leads
us to defend or excuse lies and unethical actions when our own side commits
them.
“For example: In the 1990s, leading Democrats
spent the decade defending the occupant of the Oval Office against charges of
lying and personal immorality, and attempting to silence and discredit the
women who spoke out. At the same time, leading Republicans spent that decade
attacking the lack of ethics and honesty in the White House.
“Today, the roles are exactly reversed -- not
because the parties have changed their beliefs -- but because the party
occupying the Oval Office has changed.
“When someone's judgment about an action
depends on the party affiliation of the person who committed it, they're being
dishonest with themselves and with the public. And yet, those kinds of
judgments have become so second nature that many people -- in both parties --
don't even realize that they are making them.
“Now, I know it's natural to root for your
own side -- especially when the other side is the Houston Cougars. But
governing is not a game.
“When people see the world as a battle
between left and right, they become more loyal to their tribe than to our
country. When power -- not progress -- becomes the object of the battle, truth and
honesty become the first casualties.
“You learned here at Rice that honesty leads
to trust and trust leads to freedom -- like the freedom to take tests outside
the classroom. In democracy, it's no different. If we aren't
honest with one another, we don't trust one another, then we place limits on
what we ourselves can do, and what we can do together as a country.
“It's a formula for gridlock and national
decline -- but graduates, here's the thing: It doesn't have to be that
way.
“When I was in city government, I didn't care
which party proposed an idea -- and I never once asked someone his or her party
affiliation during a job interview, or who they voted for. As a result, we had
a dream team of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. That diversity
made our debates sharper, our policies smarter, and our government better.
“Arguments were won and lost on facts and
data -- not parties and polls. That was why we had success. And it's been
great to see other mayors around the country taking that same kind of
approach. But at the national level, in Washington today, partisanship is
everything. And I think the dishonesty that it produces is one of the
greatest challenges that your generation will have to confront.
“Of course, partisanship is not a new
problem. George Washington warned against it in his Farewell Address. He
referred to the ‘dangers of parties,’ and called the passion that people have
for our parties, quote, ‘worst enemy’ of democracy -- a precursor to
tyranny. Washington urged Americans to, quote, ‘discourage and restrain’
partisanship. Sadly, in recent years, the opposite has happened.
“There is now unrestrained, rabid
partisanship everywhere we look. It’s not just on social media and cable news.
It's in the communities where we live, which are becoming more deeply red or
more deeply blue. It’s in the groups and associations and churches we join,
which increasingly attract like-minded people. It’s even in the people we
marry.
“Fifty years ago, most parents didn't care
whether their children married a member of another political party, but they
didn't want them marrying outside their race or religion, or inside their
gender.
“Today, thankfully, polls show a strong
majority support for inter-racial, inter-religious, and same-sex marriage and
that is progress. But unfortunately, the percentage of parents who don't want
their children marrying outside of their political party has doubled and the
more people segregate themselves by party, the harder it becomes to understand
the other side, and the more extreme each party grows.
“Studies show that people become more extreme
in their views when they are grouped together with like-minded people. And
that’s now happening in both parties. And as a result, I think it's
fair to say the country is more divided by party than it has ever been since
the Civil War.
“Last month, legislators in South Carolina --
which was the first state in the Union to secede back in 1860 -- introduced a
resolution that contemplated a debate on secession. Now it's easy
to dismiss that as a fringe idea -- and let’s hope it never happens. But
in like-minded groups, fringe ideas can gather momentum with dangerous speed –
just remember Germany in the late 1930s.
“If that continues to happen here, America
will become even more divided, and our national anthem may as well become the
Taylor Swift song: ‘We are never, ever, ever, getting back together.’
“So why do I bring this up as you finish your
time at this great university?
“Well, I'm hoping you graduates will draw
more inspiration from a song by a different artist: Zedd, Maren Morris, and
Grey: ‘Why don't you just meet me in the middle? I'm losing my mind
just a little.’
“Bringing the country back together I know
won't be easy. But I believe it can be done -- and if we are to continue as a
true democracy, it must be done, and it will be up to your generation to help
lead it.
“Graduates, you're ready for this
challenge. Because bringing the country back together starts with the
first lesson you learned here at Rice: Honesty matters. And everyone must
be held accountable for being honest. So as you go out into the world, I urge
you to do what honesty requires.
“Recognize that no one, nor either party, has
a monopoly on good ideas. Judge events based on what happened, not who did it.
Hold yourself and our leaders to the highest standards of ethics and
morality. Respect the knowledge of scientists. Follow the data, wherever
it leads. Listen to people you disagree with -- without trying to censor them
or shout over them. And have the courage to say things that your own side does
not want to hear.
“I just came yesterday from visiting an old
friend in Arizona, who has displayed that kind of courage throughout his life:
Senator John McCain, who is currently fighting brain cancer.
“Now, John and I often don’t see eye to eye
on issues. But I have always admired his willingness to reach across the aisle,
when others wouldn't dare.
“He bucked party leaders when his conscience
demanded it. He defended the honor of his opponents, even if it cost him
votes. And he owned up to his mistakes -- just like that young kid with
the cherry tree.
“Imagine what our country would be like if
more of our elected officials had the courage to serve with the honor that John
has always shown on the battlefield, in Washington and in his personal life.
“Graduates, after today, you will no longer
be bound by the Rice honor code. It will be up to you to decide how to live
your life -- and to follow your own honor code.
“This university has given you a special
opportunity to learn the true meaning of honor to base that code on. And now, I
believe, you have a special obligation to carry it forward -- into your work
places, your communities, your political discussions, and yes, into the voting
booth because the greatest threat to American democracy isn't communism or
jihadism, or any other external force or foreign power. It's our own
willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service of party, and in pursuit of
power.
“So let me leave you with one final thought:
We can all recite the inspiring words that begin the Declaration of
Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident --
“But remember that the Founding Fathers were
able to bring those truths to life only because of the Declaration's final
words: ‘We mutually pledge to each other, our Lives, our Fortunes, and
our sacred Honor.’
“That pledge of honor and that commitment to
truth is why we are here today. And in order to preserve those truths, and the
rights they guarantee us, every generation must take that same pledge, and it's
now your turn.
“Earlier today, I told President Leebron that
I'd like to make a donation to Rice. His eyes lit up! But I said, ‘No,
not a financial donation.’ I told him I'd like to donate a cherry tree to
be planted here on campus with a plaque that reads: ‘In Honor of the
Class of 2018.’
“And when you come back to campus as alumni, if
you pass by the tree, I hope you'll remember why it's there -- and what it
represents to our great country. And throughout your life, when you chop down a
cherry tree, as we all do from time to time, admit it -- and demand nothing
less from those who represent us.
“Graduates, you have earned this great
celebration. So tonight, have one last Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit. And
tomorrow, carry the values of this great university with you, wherever you go.
“You will never regret it. I make that pledge
to you on my honor.
“Congratulations -- and go Owls!”
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