- Amanda Caffal
I’m not going to post the whole thing, but we got a copy of the speech that mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith gave to the University of Oregon’s class of 2012 yesterday morning. But some of it’s definitely worth sharing.
The message? Graduates should embrace the lousy economy, with its paucity of high-paying, ego-boosting jobs, as a chance to cast off the myth of the career ladder and follow in Smith’s own footsteps: public service.
I know I’m supposed to come and tell you about the many opportunities before you. And I’ll say something about that. But I want to tell you something else.
You might be screwed. Not just you. Not just University of Oregon graduates. And no, not just OSU or UW[ashington] either. Your whole generation. In some important respects…your whole generation is getting screwed.
• You’re projected to be the first generation to face lower lifetime earnings than your parents.
• Many of you are looking for jobs in what economists say over the past 5 years has been the toughest job market since the great depression.
• Your generation faces the greatest wealth disparities since before WWIIThere are real questions about whether the systems of democracy we have built are in the position to solve our biggest problems. Other generations have had it hard, and you’ve had advantages.
You haven’t had to face a draft, and you got a cool phone.The point here isn’t to spark an argument about whether you have faced relatively more blessings or more challenges than others. The point here is that it’s up to you to deal with those challenges.
I want to offer a few thoughts and questions about coming to grips with that. And that includes rethinking some of our fundamental assumptions. This commencement is not a pity party. I am here to call you to service.
After the jump, read about a Satori-like experience Smith had at a New York City McDonald’s.
I wanted to go to law school, and I got into the best one I could. Next rung, Harvard. Graduated pretty near the top of my class.
Got a job at the highest paying Manhattan law firm I could find—because it was the highest paying firm I could find. Next rung. More and more of their work was becoming big tobacco defense. My mother had passed from cancer.
On one of my first Sundays in New York, I didn’t know my way around, and I walked to a nearby McDonald’s.
The place was filled with families in their Sunday best, coming out of the church around the corner. I was standing in line next to a family—African-American man, Latina wife, and two small children. The kids were asking their dad for happy meals.
The dad said “no, you can have cheeseburgers.”
So the kids did what I would have done… they asked their mom.
And she turned to her husband and said “can’t they just have happy meals?”
And he looked at her, and he wasn’t angry, he was scared, and he said “well we could, but then….”
And here I was—27-years old, projected to take home a quarter-million dollars that year, and here was a family, obviously working, going to church, doing the right thing, debating about whether they could afford happy meals for Sunday dinner. In the richest country in the history of the world.
My ladder got off its rails a bit after that. Not just because of it. It was not a single moment or single of my many imperfections and failures or any single success or strength that shaped my choices.
But I realized I wasn’t cut out to represent Big Tobacco or eventually be a corporate lawyer.
That should be his campaign slogan.
He’s kind of like Ferris Bueller, but he looks more like Principal Rooney.
I can’t wait till November so we can get a Mayor who thinks this way, and talks this way. Like a regular person, only smarter.
Mr. Smith clearly thought about what he’d say to thousands of young people who have spent years and tens of thousands of dollars to acquire an education and a degree. To tell them they’re not necessarily going to thrive because of that effort takes guts. America just might be changing from the usual politician who promises a chicken in every pot, and instead asks you to use your skills and labor for something more than simply earning money at the expense of those without it. Frank, impassioned, glass half full: about time. Bravo!
What an unusual combo of ego and humility Jefferson displays, candid about both flaws and accolades, insights and blind spots. You don’t want your leaders to be egoless; confidence and even a dose of swagger are necessary to give others the confidence to trust you know what you’re doing. But it’s not good if that translates into leadership that is ultimately self-serving, either materially or in personal legacy enhancement at the expense of the governed.
There’s an ingenious mix of 21st century social democracy and Puritan work ethic in this speech. It both nods to the seemingly inexorable control of political and economic systems over people’s livelihoods, and challenges the graduates to still not be passive in the face of things, to have hope and to work together to change the goals rather than adapt to the system.
I like Charlie, but with all due respect he’s not even CLOSE to having this kind of conversation with Portlanders. Jefferson’s approach has lessons to inform how we go about the nuts and bolts of running the city, but Charlie’s focus on being some sort of day jobber mayoral handyman is missing the cohesive vision to inform what tools are necessary, which projects to take on and how.
Candid but refreshing advice from someone who has practiced what he preached. Most commencement speakers tell a few jokes, let loose a few platitudes, and wish the graduates well. It reflects well on Smith’s leadership skills that he told them what they needed to know (without being arrogant) and not just what they wanted to hear. But equally importantly, he told them the question they had to ask themselves (“What do you want your sentence to be?”) in order to find the path that is best for them.
Rethinking your endorsement? You have until October.
Man, Jeffy got the flacks out in force!
Very refreshing…
Fu** its weird to have so much in common with a mayoral candidate.
OK, seriously… the Jefferson Smith groupies that comment on EVERY SINGLE STORY about him seriously creep me out. Way too similar to the Ron Paul people.
Also, is a satori-like experience the same as a McFlurry-like experience?
Regarding the McDonald’s story.
1. The odds that story isn’t simply just a composite or a manufactured vehicle to make a point, about 2%.
2. Assuming its true what does ones race have to do with it?
3. You could have done a lot more for people in this situation as a multimillionaire lawyer than as a bus/bicycle advocate.
4. How does he know that these people are “doing all the right things”? Maybe dad has a perfectly fine job but blows his money at the track. Maybe he’s just cheap as hell. Maybe they were trying to save money for something. Why would he make these assumptions about people he knows nothing about? Assumptions that he predicated a radical change in his only life on. That makes me think he’s crazy.
5. Let’s assume they were the noble poor and simply couldn’t afford Happy Meals. What is Jefferson Smith saying? The government should guarantee every family can afford to take their kids out for happy meals?
Bogenreev > Jefferson Smith is saying that a guy who works for McDonald-level wages should be able to feed his family there. Jefferson Smith is saying that the disparity is real; the only way out is through it.
So, it’s Ok – even good – if it takes a little time. It means your brain was not turned to mush. You still retain humanity after all the craptacular you survived. It’s only normal to be a cynic.
Take that cyncial side and keep looking, keep asking. In fact, go to an event – a house party or forum – and ask the guy yourself. Ask him about the story at McDonalds. And welcome!
“3. You could have done a lot more for people in this situation as a multimillionaire lawyer than as a bus/bicycle advocate.”
He’s not a “bus/bicycle advocate.” The Bus Project is not about public transportation; it is a democracy-building, multi-issue advocacy organization.
“Assumptions that he predicated a radical change in his only life on. That makes me think he’s crazy. “
That’s in fact exactly NOT what he said. Please reread.
OSU got Michelle “Big Guns” Obama and all UO got was Mr. Smith who wants to go to Washington?
Also, so I don’t get kicked out of this commentary, OMG!!! Jefferson Smith is SO AMAZING! Can I have your baby!?!
And also, I like the guy, and will vote for him over Charlie when the time comes.
How can I get a copy of the whole speech? Thanks!