John Edwards Speech to William & Mary Law School Grads

[Rooktoven]

Original post by benny05:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=257&topic_id=351#353

Here's the copy of his speech, courtesy of the OAC.

May 15, 2005
Senator John Edwards
William and Mary Law School Commencement Address

It's an honor to be with you today. You know most people who graduate from law school are worried about different things. You might be nervous about starting that new job. Perhaps you're overwhelmed with the loan you must repay. And I bet a couple of you are sitting there in your cap and gown, thinking, "I should have been a doctor."

You know what I thought about as the graduation speaker went on and the names were called? Getting married. The first thing I did after law school was walk down the aisle and marry Elizabeth.

Today, I am blessed to have my best friend and the love of my life by my side. And to anyone out there who's getting ready to do what we did almost 30 years ago, I have one word of advice - breathe. It's only for the rest of your life.

And it matters who's with you on this journey. It does. So many times life is going to be hard. It's going to seem that heartache and struggle just won't go away. So it matters whose hand you reach out to; whose advice you rely on and whose kindness you depend on to get through the day. And all of that - it matters even more for the joy that will grace your lives.

So what we are reminded of today is that no one succeeds alone in this world. Think about how you got here. Did your mom work an extra job to help pay for it? Did your high school teacher yell that you'd fail in life so you worked even harder? And who held your hand to get through contract law - someone has to, right? You're graduating because of your hard work, but you succeeded because of the care and support of others.

And you succeeded because of what was written - that all people are created equal, and that we are endowed with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This is what we started more than two centuries ago - a great experiment in the history of mankind. Ordinary citizens gathered in their churches, in their stores, in their homes to pursue a greater good, both civic in its promise and human in its hope.

It gave the farmer the same rights as the president. It gave the blacksmith the same chance as the ship merchant. And it gave the men and women who said that we had not honored our ideals the right to speak out in the great calls of change.

America is a place that believes in ascension. That one person can rise from very little to transform this world. It comes from that eternal belief that we all have the same worth - that a doctor and a bus driver both matter the same in America. They just have different jobs, but their hard work and dignity can lift up this world.

This is what we believe. But the best evidence of America not living up to its ideals is the more than 36 million Americans who live in poverty every day. There are children who have no real hope simply because of where they're growing up. There are people who are working two jobs and they still can't make rent. And too many families will spend the night in shelters across this country.

It doesn't have to be this way and that's why I am here today.

I am here to ask you to join me in working to eradicate poverty in America. It is time for you - our young people - to lead us in a cause that's bigger than ourselves. If we are all truly equal in the eyes of the Lord and the Law; if we are all given an equal chance to rise to our full potential; if we believe that there is dignity in hard work, then poverty has no place in America.

Think about what was written.

Is it a "life" to work two jobs and still know that every night you have to send your child to bed hungry?

Is it "liberty" to be unable to visit your sick child in the hospital because you can't leave work?

Is it "the pursuit of happiness" to stand on the street and open your palm and ask for change?

No matter how hard, how difficult or how insurmountable the challenge may seem, we must end poverty in America. It is a challenge we must face because the content of our nation's character is at stake. The poverty of one American limits the prosperity of all Americans.

In Little Washington, North Carolina, I met a woman who had been living in a shelter. She told me how she wanted to work. If she walked into this graduation, you wouldn't think anything of it. But when she walked into the local Laundromat to get warm, she said she was told to: "Get out of here. Anybody living in the shelter's got to be trash."

The truth is there but for the grace of God.

Our leaders today want us to believe that each of us is out there on our own. If you make it, that's your success. If you don't, that's your failure.

But we know that's not true. The truth is nobody succeeds in America alone. They succeed thanks to America - thanks to what was written. They succeed because America protects private property. They succeed because America has public schools and universities that give everyone the tools to get ahead. And yes, they succeed because of three very important virtues: hard work, self-discipline, and responsibility. But nobody goes it alone, and everybody has a responsibility to help everyone else get ahead.

I know this from my own life. My father had to borrow $50 to get me out of the hospital after I was born. He took me home to a mill village. He worked hard, my mother worked hard, and I worked hard. Eventually I was the first in my family to go to college. I continued to work and save and I was able to achieve success I never thought possible.

But for other young people who grew up with me, I saw things turn out differently. They worked just as hard and they just had things break the other way. A layoff meant they had to sell the house. An illness wiped out their savings and they had to close the business. And one tragedy after another meant they could never build something better for their kids.

The American people believe in the dignity that comes from hard work. And they understand that some people do everything right and the decks are still stacked against them. They believe that this is wrong and they want to make it right.

But you know why you have to end poverty in America? Because it's wrong.

In a nation of our wealth and our prosperity, to have millions of Americans working full time and living in poverty. It's wrong. They are doing everything right and they're still struggling.

This is what we must change and this is what I am asking you to do today.

People make choices in their lives about what they want to do and how they want to spend their time. Most people don't spend a lot of time thinking about those who are struggling unless they have to - unless they are. I am asking you to think about your neighbor in need. Don't turn your back on them. Open your door and let them in. Because your service can mean the difference between a life of promise or a life of poverty.

William and Mary believes in service. Your fellow students contributed more than 150,000 hours a year. They helped 90 local agencies and volunteered in more than 20 countries across the world.

This is what has been done already. For some of you, you may spend a week a year offering your legal services for free to those who have lost everything because of an illness or a tragedy. For others, you may volunteer regularly at your church or the local shelter.

But for those of you here today - students, parents, friends, and faculty, I am asking you to do four things to help eradicate poverty in America.

First, let's shine a bright light on this problem. Let's talk about it again. Good people from all different backgrounds and beliefs care about this issue. And we need to put this back on the national agenda.

Second, let's make work pay again. What we know and understand in our soul is that hard work built America. Men and women who worked with their hands and their heads - who still do - they don't want a free ride; they want a fair chance. That's why you have to fight to raise the minimum wage in this country.

Third, let's strengthen the foundation for families that work. That means health care for everyone and child care for parents who need it.

And finally, let's make sure that families aren't just getting by - but getting ahead. Today, more than 25 percent of America's working families are living on the edge of poverty. They can't survive more than three months if something happens to their income. Let's help them save, get an education, and buy a house.

So there are very real and fundamental ways in which we can prevent families from falling into poverty.

Now when the skeptics say that we can't end poverty in America, you tell them that we've made a difference before. Social Security lifted millions of seniors out of poverty. Medicare and Medicaid provide our seniors and most vulnerable with the health care they need. And Head Start alone has enrolled more than 20 million children.

The reason these efforts succeed is because the policies reflect our values. The dignity and honor of hard work are at the core of Social Security. Equal opportunity and the chance to begin life in America on equal ground are at the heart of Head Start. And personal responsibility helped jumpstart lasting reform of welfare.

The road has been bumpy, and we've made mistakes. Sometimes we failed to honor our values like work and responsibility. Sometimes we gave money to bureaucracies, not people. Sometimes our good intentions led us astray. But we know we can change lives and the course of the country when we do something about poverty.

So don't look away from the poverty that exists around us. Look at it with open eyes, knowing that you can end it.

The truth is that so many times in our country's history it's been you - our young people - who have made lasting change. I saw young people lead the fight for Civil Rights and speak out against the war in Vietnam. It was the idealism, the passion, and the belief that they were part of something bigger than themselves that transformed a generation and this country.

And today, I'm asking you to do the same. No matter where you live or what path you choose in life, you can do something to end poverty in America. It's you who can ensure that "life" means working hard and never having to send your child to bed hungry. That "liberty" means being able to visit your child in the hospital without losing your job. And that "the pursuit of happiness" is never again diminished to begging for change.

This is what is possible. This is what you can do. For the will of one can change the world, and the might of millions can lift up mankind.

Each person must lend their voice to this great call for change. Soon after, these voices will form a symphony, which stirs the souls of millions to silence this injustice. And they will silence it with their service, with their grace, and with these words we sing in unison - it will be done.

Thank you and God bless you.

[Erika]

1. What class

This is a man who pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and still became a lawyer and a senator. He lost a 16 year old son in a traffic accident and has dealt with his wife and breast cancer.

Bush was a New England political brat who had the silver spoon in his mouth all his life.

I would be very pleased to see John and Elizabeth on a ticket for the next presidency.

[saltpoint]

2. It's no coincidence that John Edwards doesn't mention tax cuts for --

-- the rich in his address to the grads...

And if nothing else, it may have uplifted the audience to be spoken to in complete sentences, all of which made good sense, as opposed to remarks they've heard by Dubya on tv, which may not even BE human speech, let alone make sense.

What an address by John Edwards. I appreciate your posting it, rooktoven. Thank you. I am envious of the men and women who heard Sen. Edwards on Sunday. They may well have been hearing the next president of the United States. Certainly he will be a contender, and even more to the point, making poverty a moral and political imperative is a bold and long-overdue thing.

As Bush strives to gut Social Security and health benefits, Edwards is challenging law grads to elevate the quality of life for all Amerians. That's the sort of issue I feel should be toward the top of the list and this is the sort of Democrat who would get my vote in a heartbeat.

[AmericanDream]

3. That is a great speech...

I think this is why Edwards connects so well (or is at least supposed to!) with people... his speeches encompass a dose of idealism, practicability, optimism, realism, vision, and inspiration... this is a very fine grad speech, indeed. However, I'm sure it sounded much better coming from him than on a piece of paper... considering the gifted speaker he is.

[Erika]

5. Yes John Edwards is a good guy

Who wasn't born in New England with a silver spoon in his mouth as was W.

[saltpoint]

6. Hi, Erika. There are many New Englanders who concur with Edwards --

-- and who voted for the Kerry-Edwards ticket November last.

Robert Kennedy was a New Englander, and I don't think there are many Americans of any zip code who did more to address issues that needed addressing.

The Kennedys, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, and many others -- all New Englanders -- don't need the salary paid a senator; they're there to serve as public servants.

The Bushes -- also New Englanders and not the pseudo-cowboy Dubya likes to pretend at -- use public service to pad private proft -- their own and the coffers of their donors. I object to that no matter the zip code of the transgressor.

[lady lib]

4. You know I've spent so long worrying about the evils

of homosexuality and birth control and activist judges that I forgot about ending poverty, feeding the hungry, pursuing happiness, taking care of seniors and other vulnerable members of our society, and giving everyone a fair chance. I forgot about dignity and honor and the belief that we're a part of something bigger than ourselves.

I forgot. But now I remember. Thank you, John Edwards for reminding us of what America can be when it's citizenry is inspired to act out of love and compassion for all of it's members.


(sarcasm off)