Fred Rogers’ 2002 Dartmouth College Commencement Address

Wow what a privilege to be with you all since I've arrived here in Hanover many people have greeted me by saying it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood well indeed it is a beautiful day but before I begin I'd like you to know that I recognize that you who live and work here have had many days particularly during these last several months that have been far from beautiful you've had a painful time and you've handled it with dignity I feel certain that the Zen topsis generous spirits inspire you and it's a great privilege for me to be with you all when I was at Dartmouth in the late 1940s the tuition room and board all added up to eleven hundred dollars a year nobody owned a home computer and hardly anyone had a television set and those who did there was a choice of three channels I'm not sure if Jean Shaheen was even born yet but very few people would have guessed that within 50 years a woman would be governor of New Hampshire yes when when I was here the first word of the alma mater was men men of Dartmouth give rose well now the first word is dear some things change for the better [Applause] during my first year here I live right over there at 101 middle mass and I had two roommates I had a professor over there who did his best to scare everyone in his class and he gave me the lowest grade that I ever had in any school anywhere but I also had an astronomy professor George Dimitrov who looked for and found what was best in each of his students when I look at the night sky I still think of that extra special kind man Dartmouth is many things to each of us I'm grateful to Jim and Susan Wright for all that they have done for this school and I'm grateful to my old friendship coop for all that he has done for all of us and I congratulate every one of you who is being honored in any way during this commencement weekend our world hangs like a magnificent jewel in the vastness of space every one of us is a part of that jewel a facet of that jewel and in the perspective of infinity our differences are infinitesimal we are intimately related may we never even pretend that we are not have you heard my favorite story that came from the Seattle Special Olympics well for the hundred yard dash there were nine contestants all of them so-called physically or mentally disabled all nine of them assembled at the starting line and at the sound of the gun they took off but not long afterward one little boy stumbled and fell and hurt his knee and began to cry the other eight children heard him crying they slowed down turned around and ran back to him every one of them ran back to him one little girl with Down syndrome bent down and kissed the boy and said this will make it better the little boy got up and he and the rest of the runners linked their arms together and joyfully walked to the finish line they all finished the race at the same time and when they did everyone in that stadium stood up and clapped and whistled and cheered for a long long time people who were there are still telling the story with great delight and you know why because deep down we know that what matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves what really matters is helping others win - even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then æneas Manlius Severine Asst Boethius what a name was the last of the great Roman philosophers and the first of the Scholastic's of the Middle Ages fifteen hundred years ago Boethius wrote this sentence oh happy race of mortals if your hearts are ruled as is the universe by love I was once invited to sit in on a master class of six young cellists from the Pittsburg Youth Symphony Orchestra the master teacher was yo-yo ma now yo-yo is the most other oriented genius I've ever known his music comes from a very deep place within his being and during that masterclass yo-yo gently led those young cellists into understandings about their instruments their music and their selves which some of them told me later they'd carry with them for I can still see the face of one young man who had just finished playing a movement of Brahms cello sonata when yo-yo said nobody else can make the sound you may of course he meant that as a compliment to the young man nevertheless he meant that also for everyone in the class nobody else can make the sound you make nobody else can choose to make that particular sound in that particular way I'm very much interested in choices and what it is and who it is that enable us human beings to make the choices we make all through our lives what choices lead to ethnic cleansing what choices lead to healing what choices lead to the destruction of the environment the erosion of the Sabbath suicide bombings or teenagers shooting teachers what choices encourage heroism in the midst of chaos I have a lot of framed things in my office which people have given to me through the years and on my walls are Greek and Hebrew and Russian and Chinese and beside my chair is a French sentence from sant exuberance little prince it reads les sociality ivz brulees europe what is essential is invisible to the eye well what is essential about you and who are those who have helped you become the person you are anyone who has ever graduated from a college anyone who has ever been able to sustain a good work has had at least one person and often many who have believed in him or her we just don't get to be competent human beings without a lot of different investments from others I'd like to give you all an invisible gift a gift of a silent minute to think about those who have helped you become who you are today some of them may be here right now some may be far away some like my astronomy professor may even be in heaven but wherever they are if they've loved you and encouraged you and wanted what was best in life for you they're right inside yourself and I feel that you deserve quiet time on this special occasion to devote some thought to them so let's just take a minute in honor of those who have cared about us all along the way one silent minute whomever you've been thinking about imagine how grateful they must be that during your silent times you remember how important they are to you it's not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls it's the knowing that we can be trusted that we never have to fear the truth that the bedrock of our lives from which we make our choices is very good stuff there's a neighborhood song that is meant for the child in each of us and I'd like to give you the words of that song right now it's you I like it's not the things you wear it's not the way you do your hair but it's you I like the way you are right now the way down deep inside you not the things that hide you not your caps and gowns they're just beside you but it's you I like every part of you your skin your eyes your feelings whether old or new I hope that you remember even when you're feeling blue that it's you I like it's you yourself it's you it's you I like and what that ultimately means of course is that you don't ever have to do anything sensational for people to love you when I say it's you I like I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch that deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive love that conquers hate peace that rises triumphant over war and justice that proves more powerful than greed so in all that you do in all of your life I wish you the strength and the grace to make those choices which will allow you and your neighbor to become the best of whoever you are congratulations to you all [Applause] you

Channel: Dartmouth

Views: 621,515

Rating: 4.9437451 out of 5

Keywords: Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, College, Commencement, Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers

Id: 907yEkALaAY

Length: 16min 44sec (1004 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 27 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Azthioth]

Big part of my childhood, this man. No greater insult than Mr. Rogers would be disappointed in you.

[u/Jmersh]

Let's not forget that Fox News called this national treasure of a human being an evil man.

[u/pagit]

Best 17 minutes of today.

Thank-you neighbour.

[u/i_crave_more_cowbell]

I wish he, or someone with his capacity for unanimous love was around today. We've got a lot of voices at the moment, but not many are talking about how we can love one another without judgement.

That's not to say that there shouldn't be judgment for bad actions, but the love should come first. There's no healing and growing without it.

[u/Baseplate]

Mr. Rogers gets me right in the weepers every time.

[u/SsurebreC]

I met Mr. Rogers in real life and he's the same amazing man you expect him to be.

[u/GunGumby]

Thanks for posting. Needed this this morning. Rest in Peace Mr. Rogers.

[u/everfalling]

We didn’t deserve him. We still don’t. But I’m glad we got him anyway.

[u/ManyWeek]

Proof that wisdom is deadly. Kids should avoid it if they want to live longer.