Call to Action...

Since I mentioned earlier on this blog that Barack would be subsituting for Ted Kennedy in making the commencement address at last weekend's Wesleyan graduation, I'm doubly glad to find that it was a beautiful, inspiring speech touching on one of the issues dear to my heart: public service. It really is worth reading the whole speech, but here are some highlights.

You are about to enter a world that makes it easy to get caught up in the notion that there are actually two different stories at work in our lives.

The first is the story of our everyday cares and concerns – the responsibilities we have to our jobs and our families – the bustle and busyness of what happens in our own life. And the second is the story of what happens in the life of our country – of what happens in the wider world. It’s the story you see when you catch a glimpse of the day’s headlines or turn on the news at night – a story of big challenges like war and recession; hunger and climate change; injustice and inequality. It’s a story that can sometimes seem distant and separate from our own – a destiny to be shaped by
forces beyond our control.

And yet, the history of this nation tells us this isn’t so. It tells us that we are a people whose destiny has never been written for us, but by us – by generations of men and women, young and old, who have always believed that their story and the American story are not separate, but shared. And for more than two centuries, they have served this country in ways that have forever enriched both.

I say this to you as someone who couldn’t be standing here today if not for the service of others, and wouldn’t be standing here today if not for the purpose that service gave my own life.

Obama to Speak for Kennedy

Barack Obama will be replacing Ted Kennedy in the commencement address that Kennedy had been scheduled to give at Wesleyan University this coming Sunday.

Barack says, "Ted and I talked about me filling in for him at Wesleyan University earlier this week. Considering what he's done for me and for our country, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. So I'm looking forward to standing in his place on Sunday even though I know I won't be able to fill his shoes."

I'm sure that Barack will give a wonderful speech, and I'm sure that the graduating students will be delighted to have him. But I'm sure we all wish, under the circumstances that, Teddy were giving the speech himself.