Two momentous dates and two very differing kinds of imagination have shaped the lives of this year’s graduates, said Thomas L. Friedman in his commencement address today to the class of 2004 at Washington University in St. Louis.
On 11/9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. And on 9/11, 2001, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center came down.
And it is the graduates’ responsibility to take the positive imagination that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and incorporate it into their own lives, to both better themselves and the world.
“As I thought about those two dates, it struck me that they each represent a powerful form of imagination at work in the world today,” said Friedman, the foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times and three-time individual Pulitzer Prize winner. “Eleven-nine, the fall of the Berlin Wall, was brought about by people daring to imagine a different and more open world, one where every human being would be free to realize his or her full potential, and then summoning the courage to act on that imagination.
“The imagination of 9/11, of course, is a pessimistic imagination, one that seeks to divide people, one that seeks to wreck walls and borders, one that seeks to make the world into a danger zone and America into a ghetto. As a result of it, the world that was your oyster seemed to close up a bit like an oyster’s shell.”
Assuring the more than 2,500 graduates and their families that he wasn’t going to continue in a depressing manner, Friedman then said:
“I am still an optimist, I am an optimist because I have kids, two girls, not much younger than you, and I want them to grow up in a world shaped by the imaginative spirit of 11/9, not by the imagination of 9/11, but I need your help, and that is what I have come here to say today.
“When I say bring the spirit of 11/9 to your own lives and careers, I mean a couple of things. First, understand that in this age of terrorism, there is no such thing as perfect security. Rational precautions should be taken, but once you’ve done that, you basically have to decide ‘Am I going to sit home in the basement forever and be imprisoned by those who are always imagining another 9/11, or am I going to get on with my life and try to pull off my own 11/9?’
“My advice? Get on with your lives.”
‘Listen to your heart’
Friedman said that another aspect of bringing the imagination of 11/9 comes into play in the job market. With more and more people having access to the Internet and e-mail, the playing field is increasingly level.
And the easiest way to rise above and get beyond the level world, Friedman said, is for graduates to follow their hearts.
“I can’t give you advice on how to learn creative thinking; some things can’t be taught,” Friedman said. “But I can give you a hint: Do what you love. First, because in the world of 11/9, you have so much more power to do what you love. And second, because if you do what you love, you will always love what you do. And 100 percent of people who love what they do end up thriving, either emotionally or financially. People who love what they do are always more adaptable and creative. …
“So whatever you plan to do, whether you plan to travel the world next year, go to graduate school, join the workforce, or take some time off to think, don’t just listen to your head: Listen to your heart. Sometimes your heart knows you better than your head. Sometimes your heart is better imagining than your brain. Listen to it, because if you don’t know quite yet what it’s telling you, keep searching because if you find it, you’ll be good at it, and as a result you are sure to be well-paid, either financially or emotionally.”
Friedman also advised the graduates to be sure to listen to opposing viewpoints. It’s easy and safe to find those who agree with you, but according to Friedman, listening is the key to life.
“First of all listening is important on a practical basis, because you can’t possibly have a monopoly on all of your ideas,” he said. “As the great Yogi Berra said, ‘It’s amazing what you can see by just listening.’
“But listening is also a sign of respect. It is a strategy for creating credibility with another person by taking him or her seriously that in turn invites respect back for the things you want to say to them.
“It is amazing how much people will allow you to say to them by way of criticism if you just bother to listen to them first.”
Play the ‘Imagine’ game
He concluded by coming full-circle to a point he made at the start of his address. He mentioned how it had been a long time since he had been surprised in a positive way by something a politician had said or done.
So he and his wife, Ann, started playing a game of “Imagine.”
“My wife said, ‘Imagine if President Bush decided to offer a real alternative to the Kyoto Treaty to reduce global warming. I’d like to wake up and see that in the morning.’
“‘Yeah, and I would like to wake up to read that Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia invited Ariel Sharon to his home in Riyadh to personally hand him the Abdullah peace plan, and Mr. Sharon responded by freezing all Israeli settlements.’
“And then Ann said, ‘I want to wake up and read that General Motors will no longer make gas-guzzling Hummers and President Bush has decided to replace his limousine with an armor-plated Toyota Prius, a hybrid car that gets over 40 miles to the gallon.’
“Then I said, ‘I want to wake up and read that Dick Cheney has apologized to the U.N. and all of our allies for being wrong about W.M.D. in Iraq, and then appeal to our allies to join the U.S. in an even more important project — to help the Iraqis build some decent kind of democratic framework.’
“‘I want to wake up and read that Congress has decided to call for a tax-hike on the rich in order to save Social Security and Medicare for the next generation and to finance all our under-funded education programs.’
“And finally I said, ‘I want to wake up and read that John Kerry has asked a Republican to be his vice-president because if Mr. Kerry wins, he’s not going to spend four years avoiding America’s hardest problems — health care, deficits, energy, education — but to tackle them and that can only be done with a bipartisan spirit and bipartisan team.'”
Friedman encouraged the graduates to play the same game around their own kitchen tables, and act upon their imagination accordingly.
“Here, at Washington University, you will be forever known as the Class of 2004,” he said. “But your world, and your country, needs you and your generation to be forever the class of 11/9.
“The generation of strategic optimists, the generation that won’t settle for pessimism, the generation that wakes up in the morning and not only imagines that things can be better, but acts on that imagination every day.”