Don't Believe Everything You think
Because you think something is true, does not make it so.
I was recently honored to deliver the commencement speech at Franklin College’s 2026 Graduation ceremony. Below is an excerpt from that speech.
Franklin College is a special place: rooted in Hoosier values, committed to teaching
transferable skills, and dedicated to producing graduates who are not only employable, but who are also thoughtful, adaptable human beings. In a culture increasingly obsessed with speed and specialization, these qualities set you
apart. It is my honor to stand with you today.
Now onto that generous introduction! You have all just passed what I call myth-making 101. My gut is that my invitation to speak here today has more to do with my age. In a culture that lionizes youth and demonizes aging, being asked to deliver a commencement address is a rare opportunity to accentuate the lessons that come with age.
Gained wisdom is one benefit, but there are other positives to being in your 7th decade
or beyond: For starters, there is a reason it’s called “kidnapping”. Adult napping means something entirely different; if you happen to be in a hostage situation, you’re usually one of the first to be released, and most importantly to me, no one-and I mean no one-expects you to run anywhere.
I cannot remember my own commencement speaker; nor do I remember their message, but I do remember the sense of accomplishment I felt-something I certainly
hope each and every graduate here today feels. At my own college commencement, I remember feeling on top of the world, diploma in hand, believing that my four years in
college would never be topped and that I was prepared for “adulting”. There is a reason they call this “commencement”, indicating an act of beginning. This moment is filled with promise and hope. I will be no bearer of bad news today, I will not tell you that adulting is hard. I will not add to the constant noise about how the world today is on fire, a dumpster fire so to speak. Speaking of dumpster fires, I’m probably the only one here who has actually experienced a real dumpster fire-as a restaurant owner, one night when a server decided to flick their lit cigarette into a dumpster containing containers of cooking oil and broken down cardboard boxes meant for recycling, but that is a story for another time.
I graduated from college in remarkably turbulent times. The Viet Nam War had just ended, there were major political scandals creating choas leading up to our country’s sole presidential resignation, there was uncertainty as my graduating class faced a down economy and bleak job market. But the time in which I graduated also gave rise to the civil rights movement; it gave rise to second-wave feminism and landmark advances in gender equality and workplace protections; it gave rise to enhanced voting protections and to the environmental movement; it also, embarrassingly yet worth mentioning, gave rise to disco music. (Each generation has a certain cross to bear, mine was disco-a genre i still love- but yours may well be
autotune)
Come on: you all weathered one of the most destabilizing events ever: The pandemic.
Something that impacted not just your world but the entire world. Yet, here you are, at
the beginning-at your beginning. Life may not be linear and random things happen, most of which are out of your control, but what you too will learn, if given the opportunity for a long life, is that few things are as catastrophically bad or as amazingly and long-lasting perfect as they first seem.
I understand why dystopian narratives catch steam. We hear daily, on loop, about
climate change, wars, political polarization, racism, economic disparity-all of which are real. Suffering and hardships are real. Our world is far from perfect. Add in the amplifying impact and addictive pull of social media, well, that might be our collective version of a dumpster fire.
As I was driving to pick up my cap and gown for my college commencement, I happened to follow a car that literally changed the way I looked at the world. It wasn’t the car, it was what was on it. Now in the 70s, bumperstickers-decals stuck on the rear fenders of cars- were a thing. They were the memes of my time. Some were just funny sayings; but many were social commentaries-after all this was a time of great societal and cultural shifts.
Bumper stickers in the pre-internet days were my generation’s version of content
creation. You could tell a lot about a person’s personal brand by the sticker on
the rear of their car. The bumper sticker on the fender of the car in front of me? DONT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK.
Technology is not neutral. We live in a world where a handful of companies control the algorithms that influence what we see, what we read, and what we hear. The resulting effect is that they can make it easy to stop thinking for yourself, forcing us to live in echo chambers.
The internet profits by peddling outrage and division, making you believe that you have to have an opinion on everything, prioritizing opinions that lack humanity, empathy, and historical context. My generation’s cultural catchphrase was “sex, drugs and rock and roll”. It’s been romanticized, commercialized and memorialized for decades. But modern technology discovered something even more marketable. Rage.
The first moon landing happened to occur on my birthday so I really remember it. Everyone-and this is no exaggeration-everyone was watching the televised
broadcast of this most incredible scientific feat.
Although we lived in Indiana, we received the NYTimes daily. You see, my parents were
native New Yorkers and reading the Times kept them connected to where they used to
live. The day after the moon landing, the Times ran a “round-up”, reporting on the mania surrounding the moon-landing event. Famous people from around the world, A-listers of the day, were asked to comment. As I remember, all were glowing but one, making it stand out. Pablo Picasso-one of the greatest artists to ever live, and at the time, one of the most famous people on earth, when asked about the moon-landing, responded: “It means nothing to me and I don’t care”, he responded.
Today,we are expected to have immediate reactions and opinions to everything. We are told we should weigh in on every headline, creating controversy out of every issue. Not everything requires commentary. Nor is everything controversial. The rush to respond lacks discernment, creating dumpster fires that become impossible to contain.
Where some see dumpster fires, I see hope,opportunity and even progress. I am assuming that most of you graduating are in your early 20s. Keep this in mind: since, you were born, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut by more than half. Child mortality rates have fallen by 60%. Access to clean drinking water, electricity, the internet, mobile banking, telemedicine, and digital education has expanded to billions of people around the globe, allowing billions of people to connect, work, heal and learn.
Over the last 20 or so years, science has advanced at remarkable speed. In just the
last decade, before most of you got to high school, mRNA vaccines among other medical discoveries have become viable and available at global scale, extending both
lifespan and quality of life. My parents’ generation, those born in the 1920s and 30s, were fortunate to reach their mid-70s. Today, most of you can expect to live well into your eighties. Babies born this year, even longer. Social progress has accelerated as well. Women’s educational attainment has risen globally, broader protections against
discrimination have become mainstream. Humanity has made extraordinary progress in
measurable ways.
None of this means the world is free of danger or strife. There is still much work to do. But the facts do not support a sole narrative of epic worldwide collapse. The larger picture is complicated and nuanced. But humans have a remarkable capacity to correct course and move forward.
Lets pretend for a moment, that you have a chance to create a single personal brand
defining bumper sticker; Let it be the one that shows you have truly put thought about things as opposed to immediately reacting. Dare to shine light on the best of humanity.
So the short-codes, the hacks, the “transferables” here today?
Life is not linear.
Resist buying the product of constant outrage.
Because you think something is true, does not make it so.
Be discerning.
And, because I am a restaurant industry advocate at heart, I have to add one more: you will never regret tipping your server too much.
You have learned the skills to thrive and adapt in an evolving world. That is straight from Franklin College’s homepage. In a world full of noise and distraction, faced with uncertainty and continuous change, the ability to think for yourself is the most transferable skill of all.
MSH
