President&Obama's&Commencement&Address&at&Arizona&State&University
President Obama's Commencement Address at Arizona State
University
Following is the text of President Obama's commencement
address at Arizona State University on May, 13, 2009, as released
by the White House.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, ASU. (Applause.)
Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank
you -- please. Well, thank you, President Crow, for that extremely
generous introduction, for your inspired leadership as well here at
ASU. And I want to thank the entire ASU community for the honor of
attaching my name to a scholarship program that will help open the
doors of higher education to students from every background. What a
wonderful gift. Thank you. (Applause.) That notion of opening doors
of opportunity to everybody, that is the core mission of this
it's a core miss and I hope this
program will serve as a model for universities across this country.
So thank you so much. (Applause.)
I want to obviously congratulate the Class of 2009 -- your
unbelievable achievement. (Applause.) I want to thank the parents,
the uncles, the grandpas, the grandmas, cousins -- Calabash cousins
-- everybody who was involved in helping these extraordinary young
people arrive at this moment. I also want to apologize to the
entire state of Arizona for stealing away your wonderful former
governor, Janet Napolitano. (Applause.) But you've got a fine
governor here and I also know that Janet is applying her
extraordinary talents to serve our entire country as the Secretary
of Homeland Security, keeping America safe. And she's doing a great
job. (Applause.)
Now, before I begin, I'd just like to clear the air about that
little controversy everybody was talking about a few weeks back. I
have to tell you, I really thought this was much ado about nothing,
but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never
again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA bracket.
(Applause.) It won't happen again. President Crow and the Board of
Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.
(Laughter and applause.)
Now, in all seriousness, I come here not to dispute the
suggestion that I haven't yet achieved enough in my life.
(Laughter.) First of all, Michelle concurs with that assessment.
(Laughter.) She has a long list of things that I have not yet done
waiting for me when I get home. But more than that, I come to
embrace the notion that I haven't do I
I come to affirm that one's title, even a title
like President of the United States, says very little about how
well one's life has been led -- that no matter how much you've
done, or how successful you've been, there's always more to do,
always more to learn, and always more to achieve. (Applause.)
And I want to say to you today, graduates, Class of 2009, that
despite having achieved a remarkable milestone in your life,
despite the fact that you and your families are so rightfully
proud, you too cannot rest on your laurels. Not even some of those
remarkable young people who were introduced earlier -- not even
that young lady who's got four degrees yet today. You can't rest.
Your own body of work is also yet to come.
Now, some graduating classes have marched into this stadium in
easy times -- times of peace and stability when we call on our
graduates simply to keep things going, and don't screw it up.
(Laughter.) Other classes have received their diplomas in times of
trial and upheaval, when the very foundations of our lives, the old
order has been shaken, the old ideas and institutions have
crumbled, and a new generation is called upon to remake the
It should be clear to you by now the category into which all of
you fall. For we gather here tonight in times of extraordinary
difficulty, for the nation and for the world. The economy remains
in the midst of a historic recession, the worst we've seen since
the Great D the result, in part, of greed and
irresponsibility that rippled out from Wall Street and Washington,
as we spent beyond our means and failed to make hard choices.
(Applause.) We're engaged in two wars and a struggle against
terrorism. The threats of climate change, nuclear proliferation,
and pandemic defy national boundaries and easy solutions.
For many of you, these challenges are also felt in more personal
terms. Perhaps you're still looking for a job -- or struggling to
figure out what career path makes sense in this disrupted economy.
Maybe you've got student loans -- no, you definitely have student
loans -- (applause) -- or credit card debts, and you're wondering
how you'll ever pay them off. Maybe you've got a family to raise,
and you're wondering how you'll ensure that your children have the
same opportunities you've had to get an education and pursue their
Now, in the face of these challenges, it may be tempting to fall
back on the formulas for success that have been pedaled so
frequently in recent years. It goes something like this: You're
taught to chase after all t you try to be on
this "who's who" list or that top 100 you chase after the big
money and you figure out how big y you worry
about whether you have a fancy enough title or a fancy enough car.
That's the message that's sent each and every day, or has been in
our culture for far too long -- that through material possessions,
through a ruthless competition pursued only on your own behalf --
that's how you will measure success.
Now, you can take that road -- and it may work for some. But at
this critical juncture in our nation's history, at this difficult
time, let me suggest that such an approach won't get you where you
it displays a poverty of ambition -- that in fact, the
elevation of appearance over substance, of celebrity over
character, of short-term gain over lasting achievement is precisely
what your generation needs to help end. (Applause.)
Now, ASU, I want to highlight -- I want to highlight two main
problems with that old, tired, me-first approach. First, it
distracts you from what's truly important, and may lead you to
compromise your values and your principles and commitments. Think
about it. It's in chasing titles and status -- in worrying about
the next election rather than the national interest and the
interests of those who you're supposed to represent -- that
politicians so often lose their ways in Washington. (Applause.)
They spend time thinking about polls, but not about principle. It
was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits, and the bonuses that
came with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street,
engaging in extraordinary risks with other people's money.
In contrast, the leaders we revere, the businesses and
institutions that last -- they are not generally the result of a
narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of
devotion to some bigger purpose -- the preservation of the Union or
the determination to lift a country the
creation of a quality product, a commitment to your customers, your
workers, your shareholders and your community. A commitment to make
sure that an institution like ASU is inclusive and diverse and
giving opportunity to all. That's a hallmark of real success.
(Applause.)
That other stuff -- that other stuff, the trappings of success
may be a byproduct of this larger mission, but it can't be the
central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff. That's the first problem
with the old attitude.
But the second problem with the old approach to success is that
a relentless focus on the outward markers of success can lead to
complacency. It can make you lazy. We too often let the external,
the material things, serve as indicators that we're doing well,
even though something inside us tells us that we're not doing our
that we're avoiding that which is hard,
that we're shrinking from, rather than rising to, the challenges of
the age. And the thing is, in this new, hyper-competitive age, none
of us -- none of us -- can afford to be complacent.
That's true in whatever profession you choose. Professors might
earn the distinction of tenure, but that doesn't guarantee that
they'll keep putting in the long hours and late nights -- and have
the passion and the drive -- to be great educators. The same
principle is true in your personal life. Being a parent is not just
a matter of paying the bills, doing the bare minimum -- it's not
bringing a child into the world that matters, but the acts of love
and sacrifice it takes to raise and educate that child and give
them opportunity. (Applause.) It can happen to Presidents, as well.
If you think about it, Abraham Lincoln and Millard Fillmore had the
very same title, they were both Presidents of the United States,
but their tenure in office and their legacy could not be more
different.
And that's not just true for individuals -- it's also true for
this nation. In recent years, in many ways, we've become enamored
with our own past success -- lulled into complacency by the glitter
of our own achievements.
We've become accustomed to the title of "military super-power,"
forgetting the qualities that got us there -- not just the power of
our weapons, but the discipline and valor and the code of conduct
of our men and women in uniform. (Applause.) The Marshall Plan, and
the Peace Corps, and all those initiatives that show our commitment
to working with other nations to pursue the ideals of opportunity
and equality and freedom that have made us who we are. That's what
made us a super power. (Applause.)
We've become accustomed to our economic dominance in the world,
forgetting that it wasn't reckless deals and get-rich-quick schemes
that got us where we are, but hard work and smart ideas -- quality
products and wise investments. We started taking shortcuts. We
started living on credit, instead of building up savings. We saw
businesses focus more on rebranding and repackaging than innovating
and developing new ideas that improve our lives.
All the while, the rest of the world has grown hungrier, more
restless -- in constant motion to build and to discover -- not
content with where they are right now, determined to strive for
more. They're coming.
So graduates, it's now abundantly clear that we need to start
doing things a little bit different. In your own lives, you'll need
to continuously adapt to a continuously changing economy. You'll
end up having more than one job and more than one career over the
to keep gaining new skills -- possibly even
and you'll have to keep on taking risks as new
opportunities arise.
And as a nation, we'll need a fundamental change of perspective
and attitude. It's clear that we need to build a new foundation --
a stronger foundation -- for our economy and our prosperity,
rethinking how we grow our economy, how we use energy, how we
educate our children, how we care for our sick, how we treat our
environment. (Applause.)
Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. There are no
standard remedies, no go-to fixes this time around. And Class of
2009 that's why we're going to need your help. We need young people
like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your enthusiasm
and your energy, we need your imagination.
And let me be clear, when I say "young," I'm not just referring
to the date of your birth certificate. I'm talking about an
approach to life -- a quality of mind
willingness to follow your passions, regardless of whether they
lead a willingness to question conventional
wisdom an a lack of regard for all the
traditional markers of status and prestige -- and a commitment
instead to doing what's meaningful to you, what helps others, what
makes a difference in this world. (Applause.)
That's the spirit that led a band of patriots not much older
than most of you to take on an empire, to start this experiment in
democracy we call America. It's what drove young pioneers west, to
A it's what drove young women to reach for the
what inspired a 30 year-old escaped slave to run an
underground railroad to freedom -- (applause) -- what inspired a
young man named Cesar to go out a what
inspired a 26 year-old preacher to lead a bus boycott for justice.
It's what led firefighters and police officers in the prime of
their lives up the stairs of
and young people
across this country to drop what they were doing and come to the
aid of a flooded New Orleans. It's what led two guys in a garage --
named Hewlett and Packard -- to form a company that would change
what led scientists in laboratories, and
novelists in coffee shops to labor in obscurity until they finally
succeeded in changing the way we see the world.
That's the great American story: young people just like you,
following their passions, determined to meet the times on their own
terms. They weren't doing it for the money. Their titles weren't
fancy -- ex-slave, minister, student, citizen. A whole bunch of
them didn't get honorary degrees. (Laughter and applause.) But they
changed the course of history -- and so can you ASU, so can you
Class of 2009. (Applause.) So can you.
With a degree from this outstanding institution, you have
everything you need to get started. You've got no excuses. You have
no excuses not to change the world. Did you study business?
(Applause.) Go start a company. (Applause.) Or why not help our
struggling non-profits find better, more effective ways to serve
folks in need. (Applause.) Did you study nursing? (Applause.)
Understaffed clinics and hospitals across this country are
desperate for your help. Did you study education? (Applause.) Teach
in a high-need school where the
give a chance
to kids who can't-- who can't get everything they need maybe in
their neighborhood, maybe not even in their home we can't afford to
give up on -- prepare them to compete for any job anywhere in the
world. (Applause.) Did you study engineering? (Applause.) Help us
lead a green revolution -- (applause) -- developing new sources of
clean energy that will power our economy and preserve our
But you can also make your mark in smaller, more individual
ways. That's what so many of you have already done during your time
here at ASU -- doing your
own small part to fight hunger and homelessness, AIDS and cancer.
One student said it best when she spoke about her senior
engineering project building medical devices for people with
disabilities in a village in Africa. Her professor showed a video
of the folks they'd been helping, and she said, "When we saw the
people on the videos, we began to feel a connection to them. It
made us want to be successful for them." Think about that: "It made
us want to be successful for them."
That's a great motto for all of us -- find somebody to be
successful for. Raise their hopes. Rise to their needs. As you
think about life after graduation, as you look into the mirror
tonight after the partying is done -- (laughter and applause) --
that shouldn't get such a big cheer -- (laughter) -- you may look
in the mirror tonight and you may see somebody who's not really
sure what to do with their lives. That's what you may see, but a
troubled child might look at you and see a mentor. A homebound
senior citizen might see a lifeline. The folks at your local
homeless shelter might see a friend. None of them care how much
money is in your bank account, or whether you're important at work,
or whether you're famous around town -- they just know that you're
somebody who cares, somebody who makes a difference in their
So Class of 2009, that's what building a body of work is all
about -- it's about the daily labor, the many individual acts, the
choices large and small that add up over time, over a lifetime, to
a lasting legacy. That's what you want on your tombstone. It's
about not being satisfied with the latest achievement, the latest
gold star -- because the one thing I know about a body of work is
that it's never finished. It' it deepens and expands
with each day that you give your best, each day that you give back
and contribute to the life of your community and your nation. You
may have setbacks, and you may have failures, but you're not done
-- you're not even getting started, not by a long shot.
And if you ever forget that, just look to history. Thomas Paine
was a failed corset maker, a failed teacher, and a failed tax
collector before he made his mark on history with a little book
called "Common Sense" that helped ignite a revolution. (Applause.)
Julia Child didn't publish her first cookbook until she was almost
50. Colonel Sanders didn't open up his first Kentucky Fried Chicken
until he was in his 60s. Winston Churchill was dismissed as little
more than a has-been, who enjoyed scotch a little bit too much,
before he took over as Prime Minister and saw Great Britain through
its finest hour. No one thought a former football player stocking
shelves at the local supermarket would return to the game he loved,
become a Super Bowl MVP, and then come here to Arizona and lead
your Cardinals to their first Super Bowl. (Applause.) Your body of
work is never done.
Each of them, at one point in their life, didn't have any title
or much status to speak of. But they had passion, a commitment to
following that passion wherever it would lead, and to working hard
every step along the way.
And that's not just how you'll ensure that your own life is
well-lived. It's how you'll make a difference in the life of our
nation. I talked earlier about the selfishness and irresponsibility
on Wall Street and Washington that rippled out and led to so many
of the problems that we face today. I talked about the focus on
outward markers of success that can help lead us astray.
But here's the thing, Class of 2009: It works the other way
around too. Acts of sacrifice and decency without regard to what's
in it for you -- that also creates ripple effects -- ones that lift
up fami that spread opportunity and boost our
that reach folks in the forgotten corners of the world
who, in committed young people like you, see the true face of
America: our strength, our goodness, our diversity, our enduring
power, our ideals.
I know starting your careers in troubled times is a challenge.
But it is also a privilege. Because it's moments like these that
force us to try harder, to dig deeper, and to discover gifts we
never knew we had -- to find the greatness that lies within each of
us. So don't ever shy away from that endeavor. Don't stop adding to
your body of work. I can promise that you will be the better for
that continued effort, as will this nation that we all love.
Congratulations, Class of 2009, on your graduation. God bless
you. And God bless the United States of America.
以上网友发言只代表其个人观点，不代表新浪网的观点或立场。114网址导航114网址导航Wei-Yin Chen