What Will You Build?

Thank you for the opportunity to join you on this exciting and memorable occasion. Memorable first because you graduates finish your studies at Dixie College; and memorable second because most of us hope that the Jazz will finish the Chicago Bulls tonight as well.

And, speaking of the Jazz, I heard the other day that two little boys were tossing a ball in Worthen Park when suddenly, a rabid Rottweiler attacked one of them. The other boy, thinking fast, grabbed a slat out of a fence, wedged it into the dog's collar, and twisted it—thus killing the dog and saving his friend's life.

A reporter from a St. George newspaper, which shall remain nameless, happened to be walking by. Running over to interview the boy, he grabbed his notepad and started writing, "YOUNG JAZZ FAN SAVES FRIEND FROM VICIOUS ANIMAL!"

"I'm NOT a Jazz fan," says the child. "Oh, I'm sorry," replied the reporter. "I just assumed that if you lived in Utah, you would be a Jazz fan." Continuing, he wrote:

"LITTLE DIXIE REBEL RESCUES FRIEND FROM HORRIFIC ATTACK!"

"I'm NOT a Rebel fan either!" says the boy.

"I thought any kid who lives near St. George would either be a Jazz fan or a Rebel fan!" exclaimed the reporter. "So, who-in-the-heck DO you support?"

"I cheeer for the Snow College Badgers," said the little hero confidently and with pride.

The reporter started a new sheet in his notebook and wrote: "VICIOUS LITTLE REDNECK KID KILLS BELOVED FAMILY PET!"

Speaking of newsworthy events, I recently happened to have CNN on in my office. As you know, they sometimes do these soft stories in between the coverage of President Clinton and the most recent weather disaster.

They ran this story of a new amusement park in California that displayed these huge models of famous buildings, animals, airplanes, and other things. This would not be remarkable, except that these huge sculptures were made out of legos—you know, those little colored plastic blocks.

That's right. A replica of the U.S. Capitol, for example, that appeared to be nearly as big as this platform—built completely out of legos.

Now, I admit that my first reaction to this was "don't these people have anything better to do?"

But, then, I remembered watching my grandchildren build all kinds of very inventive things out of these little interlocking pieces—though I admit that more times than not, the end results looked suspiciously like Weapons of Mass Destruction. Still, their efforts required a lot of skill, patience and perseverance, as did those elaborte buildings in Legoland.

Who would have thought that a park comprised of lego sculptures could be a viable commercial venture?

We are here today to celebrate your great achievement. You committed yourselves to a goal and made good on it. You did well; but, most importantly, you worked hard and saw it through. You now have the requisite building blocks for a constructive future.'

There is honor in doing your best. Do you remember the cross country ski race during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano when Bjorn Daehlie [Bee-yorn Day-lee], the six-time gold medalist from Norway, waited 20 minutes at the finish line to congratulate the last-place finisher, Philip Boit of Kenya, who was deemed unlikely to finish at all.

There can only be one gold medalist. There can only be one valedictorian; one Oscar or Grammy winner; one NBA most valuable player. But, winning isn't everything.

The victory is not always to the swift, but to him who finishes the race.

Each and every one of you here today deserves all the accolades we can offer. You have done yourselves proud. You have finished this race.

But, now, we have to ask: What will you do next? What is your next goal? What will you build with the knowledge and experience you have acquired here? If English, mathematics, science, and all the other courses you have taken here at Dixie College are the lego blocks, what are you going to do with them?

While some of you plan to continue your college education, I imagine that others of you are focusing on a career.

Dixie has extensive and top rated programs of preparation for such diverse occupations as accounting, electronics, aerospace technology, child development, or emergency medical technician.

Where would we be without qualified individuals to perform these essential services? In the case of electricians or plumbers, we'd either be in the dark or treading water.

In the case of EMTs or any of the health professions, we'd probably be dead.

And, let me tell you a secret... there aren't many lawyers who repair their own cars, do home repairs, or alter their own clothes. Two lawyer families eat out more. With an ever-increasing number of newly minted attorneys in this country, this trend could prove a real boon to the restaurant industry.

Build your own business. Offer employment to others. Improve commercial property. Sponsor a local little league team. Being your own boss has a lot of rewards—I say go for it!

But, whether you become students at another institution, employees, or entrepreneurs, I hope that you will take from Dixie College a sense of community.

We Westerners pride ourselves on our rugged individualism. We value our independence and we like to solve our own problems.

Well, these very traits of self-reliance, hard work, and resourcefulness helped build this state—and build America.

Freedom's natural derivatives are people doing what they want to do and benefitting from their own effort. And, I personally believe that government often impinges too much on individual effort through taxes that are too high and regulation that is unjustified. You know, the closest thing to immortality is a government bureau!

We seem to regulate everything in the federal government. I remember when I first went to Washington, I saw a press release from the Consumer Product Safety Commission announcing that if tap water is too hot, one could get scalded. You know... I'll bet you didn't even need to graduate from Dixie College to know that.

But, having lived and studied in the Dixie College community—both the academic community and the city of St. George—you know that the strength and spirit of a community is also important. That is probably why St. George has won national recognition as one of America's best and most liveable communities.

If your house burns down, you rely on a community of neighbors or church members to lend you a helping hand. You rely on your fellow citizens to abide by traffic laws to make the roads safe. You expect people to respect the whole community by not littering or trashing public property and by exercising proper behavior in public.

And, as you well know, there are many public services the government cannot perform. We must rely on the community to pitch in. I was very impressed by the community spirit of that small South Dakota town that was recently flattened by a tornado. Despite their terrible losses, the townsfolk immediately banded together and began to help each other to clean up and rebuild. We here in Utah know a little bit about that type of community cooperation.

What kind of community will you build? As you enter this next phase of your lives, what kind of community do you want to live in? Where do you want to raise your children? How can you put into practice not only the skills you have acquired here at Dixie, but also the values you have come to appreciate in this college community?

You want better schools for your children? Volunteer at school; run for the school board.

You want safer neighborhoods? Volunteer for the neighborhood watch program.

You want attractive parks for recreation? Pick up some trash. Plant some flowers. (I am a great one to be talking here—my wife insists with my green thumb I could kill a flagpole!)

You feel sympathy for those less fortunate? Organize a food or clothing drive. Support local groups organized to assist those who are down on their luck.

If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.

We have such a plethora of government programs designed to help the poor that I believe we have developed a tendency to "let George do it."

We pay taxes, so we think our duty is fulfilled. On the contrary, if we rely on government to provide welfare, two things happen: one, government gets bigger; and two, our own capacity for caring can be affected.

A community is merely the sum of the individuals in it. We should not allow our individualism to insulate us from the needs of the community and obscure our roles— and our responsibilities—as members of it.

I recently heard a 1990s version of that childhood story, the "Little Red Hen."

"Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who found some grains of wheat. She called to her neighbors and said, If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?'

Not I,' said the cow.

Not I,' said the duck.

Not us,' said the pig and the goose.

Then I will,' said the Little Red Hen. The wheat grew and ripened into golden grain.

Who will help me reap the wheat?' asked the Little Red Hen.'

Out of my classification,' said the duck.

I'm not in that union,' said the pig.

I'd jeopardize my seniority,' said the cow.

I'd lose my unemployment compensation,' said the goose.

So, the Little Red Hen did it herself. Then, she asked, who will help me bake the bread?'

I'd lose my welfare benefits,' said the goose.

That would be overtime,' said the pig.

I never learned how,' said the duck.

So, the Little Red Hen baked five loaves of delicious bread all by herself. Her neighbors all wanted some. When the Little Red Hen refused, her neighbors were angry.

Excess profits!,' cried the cow.

Capitalist leech!,' said the duck.

Equal rights!' yelled the goose.

You're just selfish!,' grunted the pig.

"Then the government agent came and told the Little Red Hen, You must not be greedy,' and directed her to divide her bread, which she did.... But, her neighbors wondered why she never baked any more bread."

This is not just a story extolling the virtue of free enterprise, although it certainly illustrates the importance of reward as an incentive to production. But, it also shows us that the only way to benefit within a community is to pitch in—unless we want the government inserting itself even more into our lives and taking over our responsibilities.

Finally, I urge you to build on your education and experience at Dixie College to be the best person you can be. Good character in our society has for too long been underrated as a virtue—and questionable character for too long seen as a symptom and not as a cause of societal problems.

None of us wants to be like the man whose epitaph read: "Here lies an attorney and a good man." A passerby stopped, read the tombstone and did a doubletake. "What! What!" he said. "How did they get two of them in ONE grave?"

And, despite the fact that I am an attorney involved with legislation, I would rather be remembered for my integrity than the bills I passed. But, good character doesn't come automatically. Each of us has to fight a variety of temptations every day. Each of us must work to overcome a weakness of one type or another.

There is a story about a Zen master who went to the corner street vendor to buy a hot dog for lunch. The vendor prepared the hot dog as requested—with the works. The Zen master handed the vendor a $20 bill, which the vendor pocketed. "Excuse me," the master said, "where is my change?" "Ah," the vendor said, "you are the Zen master. You should know that change comes from within."

There is a good reason they call these ceremonies "commencement exercises."

Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.

Whether you choose to continue your formal education or not, you must never stop learning. Read. Enjoy music and art. Take up a sport—perhaps one you've never played or watched. Visit new places—and there are some fascinating places right here in Utah and in the West. Try food from a foreign country. Find some new constellations in the night sky.

The key is not to get stale. Keep your mind working and your outlook fresh.

And remember the wisdom that the apostle Paul imparted to his new disciples at Corinth:

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one's work will become clear...." [I Corinthians 3:11-13]

Do not neglect your spiritual growth. Whatever your religious roots may be, nurture them. Our faith can guide our vision. It can direct our actions. It can be a strong foundation for whatever we choose to build in terms of our career goals, our communities, our families, our government, and our own happiness.

Some wag once said that a graduation is where a commencement speaker tells rows and rows of graduates, ALL dressed exactly the same, that individuality is what makes the world tick.

But it's true. You may not be developing an amusement park of lego block sculpture; but I have no doubt that members of this graduating class will go on to achieve great things—great things that are not defined only as Olympic gold medals or Nobel prizes -- but also as raising good families, doing honest work, and being kind to your neighbors.

I congratulate each and every one of you. God bless you and all your future endeavors.