The Kingdom Come

I had the honor to attend a relative's high school graduation. It was extra special since this relative is graduating from the same high school from which my dad graduated, making them the first grandchild to graduate from the same school from which he did.

There was the expected excitement of new lives about to commence into adulthood. But I was puzzled at the Commencement Speech by some local dignitary which seemed more of a political statement than an encouragement to these young adults. Why must these people always talk about left-wing agendas? In this case, this person spoke about protecting the earth and the "green" agenda.

The more and more I thought about the various speeches offered by the dignitaries, I noticed a theme. They were all advocating that these graduates CHANGE the world. At first it may sound like the thing to say, but is change always good? How about some speeches on holding-fast, on not letting the world degrade further and further. It seems this mentality of "change" has so infested us that we want any kind of change rather than the status quo. Is the status quo ever the correct course???

No wonder our youth are so "ADD" (attention deficiency disorder). We are constantly telling them it is bad for things to remain as they are. We want them to always be changing everything. How does that work with marriages? How does that work with employment? How does that work with faith?

Rather, I'd love to see a graduation commencement speech that goes something like this:

"Today, you graduates will embark on the rest of your life. Some of you will go on to be doctors and lawyers, policemen and women, join the military or own a business. Some of you will start families and work dutifully to support them. Some of you may even be stay at home moms and dads.

I know the typical commencement speech is given to bolster you to go out and change the world, and indeed some of you will do that. But some of you will go on to simply add to the stability of the American society. You will not invent the cure for cancer or fly to the moon, however your contribution to this great nation will be no less important. You will be following in the footsteps of the generations that have come before you. You will be shoring up that foundation, giving an example to those who follow after. We are not to seek change for changes sake, since not all change is good. While it is good that we progress as a united people, leaving behind external and self-imposed prejudices and resentments, it is also good that we maintain those things that made our parents strong, that made our grandparents strong and that will make us strong.

Today, you will embark on that glorious adventure, adding your brick to the road upon which those who traveled before you added theirs and upon which the next generation shall travel. Let your life mean something, stand for something whether it is for effecting change or for maintaining time honored traditions, you are the present and the future."

Can I just hear such a commencement speech once in my life that isn't a political agenda or a socialistic call to personal or collective revolution (change)?