9696 – 中文站 | 科普文章，文史知识，英文演讲和英文书籍
Over the many years of practicing, I have come to the realization that history is not a fixed thing, a collection of precise dates, facts and events (even cogent commencement quotes) that add up to a quantifiable, certain, confidently known, truth. It is a mysterious and malleable thing.
Thank you and welcome all you soggy people. Napoleon said, and this is Napoleon Bonaparte, not the Napoleon Dynamite. He said, war is when the government tells you who your enemy is, revolution is when you figure it out for yourself. And we know who our enemy is.
Be curious, not cool. Be virtuous and purposeful. Do good things, help others. Do not get frozen in the ice of your own indifference. Don’t confuse success with excellence, those Benjamins are a means not an end. Do not descend too deeply into specialism, educate all of your parts, you will be healthier.
Around the world, the voices of children are getting louder. They are calling for better health – a visit to a doctor; a simple vaccination against diseases; a plate of food and clean water to drink. They are calling for a seat in the classroom, and the loudest voices, are coming from girls. They just want the same opportunities as boys to learn and develop.
Duke Class of 2021: I wish you lives with Desmond’s kind of love: Love for our neighbors—and for people who feel like they’re a world apart. Love for justice—defined by a spirit of mutuality and community. Love for a world where we don’t need to win at someone else’s expense, even if they’re Tar Heels—where we can win together.
The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief in times of emergency and disaster. The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation and shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age.
Everything I’ve done in my life is a result of persistence. And I challenge all of you to do the same. We’ve all had a New Orleans education. I lived in New Orleans for four years as well. Cultivate what you’ve learned, make something special out of it. And never give up.
I graduated from the University of Life. All right? I received a degree from the School of Hard Knocks. And our colors were black and blue, baby. I had office hours with the Dean of Bloody Noses. All right? I borrowed my class notes from Professor Knuckle Sandwich and his Teaching Assistant, Ms. Fat Lip Thon Nyun. That’s the kind of school I went to for real, okay?
Impermanence is the natural state of the universe. Everything changes, all the time. Sometimes those changes are so imperceptible we’re not always conscious of them. But nothing stays the same forever. And this fact of impermanence is something we’re all aware of.
It’s OK to be scared. In fact, if you weren’t scared, I’d be scared for you. But let me repeat something that the most extraordinary, certainly one of the most extraordinary men I’ve ever known said. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. Let your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
No matter how cliché it may sound, you will never truly be successful until you learn to give beyond yourself. Empathy and kindness are the true signs of emotional intelligence. Enjoy the process of your search without succumbing to the pressure of results…trust your gut……keep throwing darts at the dart board…..don’t listen to the critics and you will figure it out.
I believe anyone committed to human rights is an internationalist. It means seeing the world with a sense of fairness and humility, and recognizing our own humanity in the struggles of others. It includes the view that success isn’t being better or greater than others, but finding your place in a world where others succeed too.
The problem is lack of political will. We cannot look at Syria, and the evil that has arisen from the ashes of indecision, and think this is not the lowest point in the world’s inability to protect and defend the innocent. And I say this as someone who is proud to have been part of the UN system for 13 years.
There can be no peace and stability in Afghanistan, or anywhere else in the world, that involves trading away the rights of women. Worse still we see impunity for crimes committed against women and girls during conflict, or when women human rights defenders are attacked, or killed, or imprisoned.
She wasn’t really the best critic since she never had anything unkind to say, but she did give me love and confidence and, above all, she was very clear that nothing would mean anything if I didn’t live a life of use to others.
If we are to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, sustainable development is imperative. But development is neither achievable nor sustainable in the absence of peace. It is critical that we work in concert tours attaining both sustainable peace and sustainable development.
For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that dreams dream big and dreams do come true, and ladies, don’t let anybody tell you, you are ever past your prime. Never give up.
When you leave the friendly confines of West Philly: Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give everything you’ve got. And when you fall throughout life—and maybe even tonight after a few too many glasses of champagne—fall forward.
Think of perfection like an asymptote. The journey towards it is infinite, but the destination can never be reached. If you’re able to take that journey and enjoy it, knowing that there will always be endless room for improvement, then you be ah’ight.
So what I say to all of you is that “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. I’ve seen porta-potties on fire from a helicopter above Woodstock 99. I’ve seen Charlize Theron glitter in the dark from the backstage wings of the Oscars. All of these moments and far better ones are waiting to be experienced and marveled at by every one of you. It’s time to live.
