Courage: A Letter to the Oberlin College Class of 2025

I don’t know much about the theory of courage. But I believe that it shows up when summoned from the depths of our loyalties and affections—doing work for which we’re willing to live and die.

Whatever the causes, the world has gone haywire and in the years ahead all of us will need courage more than ever. A few examples to make the point:

• Some tech bros—about your age—are dismantling the Federal government, painstakingly assembled over 235 years;
• Immigrants—some U.S. citizens—are being arrested and shipped to foreign prisons... without due process;
• The president says he “doesn’t know” whether he must uphold the Constitution—that he swore to “preserve, protect, and defend” 125 days ago;
• Billionaires and mega corporations are getting more tax cuts;
• People, young and old, are dying in Ukraine, Gaza, South Sudan;
• Last week others died in heat and storms in the Midwest;
• During this one hour, we will release the heat equivalent from 18,000 Hiroshima-size bombs to an already overheated Earth; and
• Mendacity and oligarchy are on the march; Truth—our stock in trade—is under assault.

Future generations will think us “deranged” in Amitav Ghosh’s words. Your job—our job—is to prove them wrong and make a better future than that in prospect. So, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” (Mary Oliver)

As you think it over, know that there is work for you to do—good work... and trouble to cause, what John Lewis called “necessary trouble.” But good work and necessary trouble always come with the courage to do it. With that in mind, a few observations:

1. Get a life before you select a career... have a compass, not an itinerary... know whose side you are on;
2. Stand for something that matters—and there is a great deal that matters;
3. Be less certain of your certainties, but more clear about your values;
4. Laugh at the human predicament and yourself... otherwise you’re just not taking things seriously enough;
5. Pay attention to serendipity—those small chance occurrences, once defined as God’s way to remain anonymous;
6. Be grateful always: You are the beneficiary of kindnesses, known and unknown;
7. Remember that you are kin to all that has ever lived, is living, and by our forbearance will live; and
8. In coming years, as you learn, in Rutger Bregman’s words, to “self-diminish,” become more kind, compassionate, and wise.

As for courage... remember the Lion in The Wizard of Oz walking down that yellow brick road looking for courage... only to find that the wizard was a phony and that he had courage all along, it was all around him and It’s all around you too and will come when you most need it. You will be surprised when you discover how much you can do in the years ahead, and there is not a moment to lose.

AND Congratulations, we’re very proud of you! Godspeed!