Hampden-Sydney College Commencement Speech

The psalmist said it best. "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

This morning we have gathered here to celebrate the commencement of Hampden-Sydney College's Class of 2015. But before we get to that -- I would like to add to Dr. Howard's acknowledgement of Mother's Day.

As a point in fact, it should be noted that not a single one of us would even be sitting here today if it were not for the mothers we honor today in what has become a wonderful tradition here at the College. Our mothers held us when we took our first breaths, they guided us when we took our first steps, they watched us as we got on the bus on our first day of school, and they helped us pack for our first day of college. Every step of the way, our mothers nurtured us with their unconditional love, they taught us the difference between what is right and what is wrong, and they instilled in us the confidence and strength that defines our character.

And so today, your mothers have come to watch you walk through these gates into a new and uncertain world -- as good men and good citizens. And while, in many ways, their work may be done, the good news is that, Lord willing, your mothers will be with you for many years hence as you make your own way.

Indeed, my mother, Margaret Hurt, sat here on this same spot on Venable Lawn during the commencement exercises of the Class of 1991 as she watched her son walk through these gates. I am glad to tell you that my mother is here with me again today, 24 years later.

And, if you are blessed as I have been when you leave this place, you will find a couple of new mothers along the way. I am also glad that Sue Sadler, my mother-in-law, and Kathy Hurt, my wife and mother of our three boys, are here as well.

So to my mother -- and to all of the mothers that are here today -- and to those who are not: Thank You -- and Happy Mother's Day.

To President Howard and our Hampden-Sydney First Lady Barbara Howard; Trustees; distinguished faculty and staff, mothers and fathers and families; and members of Hampden-Sydney's Class of 2015: it is an honor to be invited to return to Venable Lawn once again and to stand on this side of the lectern and share with you some thoughts on this important day. Thank you for this invitation.

I also want to thank President Howard and the Trustees of Hampden-Sydney for the leadership you have provided this great American institution. At a time when liberal arts institutions of higher education face greater and greater challenges, you have stood committed to the founding vision for this College -- while working diligently to position her for the future.

Likewise, I want to recognize each member of the faculty and staff of Hampden-Sydney for your commitment to providing an "atmosphere of sound learning" and your dedication to each of the students that you will have shepherded through these gates. The good works that will be done by these young men surely will be multiplied, and these good works will be the greatest testament to the countless hours you have spent with them during their time on this hill. Thank you.

In January of this year, I was driving to Hershey, Pennsylvania to attend a Congressional conference when I received a telephone call from Dr. Howard. I suspected that Dr. Howard was tending to some routine Hampden-Sydney business -- perhaps asking me to host a student visit at the Capitol or to lend my support to a fundraising initiative. So I was very surprised when he asked me to deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2015 here today.

And, frankly, I was hesitant to accept the invitation. Over my last fifteen years in public life, I have given a lot of speeches -- indeed, that is kind of what I do for a living; but a commencement speech -- especially at my alma mater and at an institution as venerable as this -- well, that is different kind of speech. It was a daunting prospect -- for a couple of reasons.

First, I was not (and am not) convinced that I am nearly distinguished enough to be honored with this task. Many of the professors that taught me are still here today, and many of them may have had the same feeling when they learned that I had accepted this invitation.

To make matters worse, I am, after all, a politician. But I am not just any politician -- I am a member of the United States Congress.

And if you get your news on late night television, you know that members of Congress are not very popular these days. In fact, before his retirement, Jay Leno commented on a study of Congress at the time. He said "According to a study released today, the average member of Congress can only speak at a tenth grade level. Which is worse than it sounds, because the average tenth grader speaks at a third grade level."

Jimmy Kimmel recently said this: "A new poll shows that disapproval of Congress is at an all-time high. Eighty-two percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing and the other 18 percent weren't home when the question was asked."

This is actually nothing new though. Perhaps my favorite quotation about Congress is from John Adams -- our second President -- when, late in life, he offered: "In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress." So you see my conundrum.

The second reason I was reluctant to accept Dr. Howard's kind invitation was because -- well, frankly, you are a tough audience. And I know this from experience. I do remember sitting where you are 24 years ago and reflecting, albeit briefly, on the solemnity and importance of the occasion, but honestly folks, I don't remember one thing our commencement speaker said -- and, in fairness, I doubt many who sit through any graduation ceremony do.

Those of you who are graduating today have a lot on your minds. You are likely thinking about how the robes you are wearing are hot and how the hats perilously perched on your heads are uncomfortable. You may be thinking about the festivities from last night and how lucky we are that you are sitting here at all this morning.

For the parents that are here this morning, you have a lot on your minds as well. As you sit here today, you may have finally screwed up the courage to calculate just how much you have paid in tuition over the past four years. I can only imagine what my own father -- a kind man who is also here today -- was thinking at my graduation 24 years ago. I am sure he was wondering why it was that I needed a very expensive degree in English so that I could then leave here and go and work on a cattle ranch in Wyoming.

So it is understandable that a commencement speaker does not command the undivided attention of his or her audience. But still -- you are a tough audience, and you can see why Dr. Howard's invitation was not an easy call.

But then, as I considered his invitation, I thought about what Hampden-Sydney has really meant to me.

I remembered receiving my acceptance letter from Anita Garland, the secret weapon of Hampden-Sydney admissions. I remembered the letter for its beautiful handwriting and for its graciousness and enthusiasm -- conveying to me that Hampden-Sydney would be an exciting place where I was welcome, where I would belong, and where, frankly, I was lucky to be.

And I thought back on a few of the many wonderful professors I had while I was here. I remembered with gratitude the patience -- and mercy -- shown me by Dr. Robb Koether, who taught our freshman math class -- the only one I took. I remembered the hours Rosalind Hingeley spent with her Rhetoric students challenging us to be better writers -- to communicate more clearly and effectively. I thought back on the time spent with Dr. Jim Pontuso learning about the founding principles of our great nation -- studying works like James Madison's essays in the Federalist Papers and Alexis deTocqueville's "Democracy in America." And then there was Dr. David Marion and his arduous review of the fundamentals of Constitutional Law -- combined with his quaint southern accent. And I remembered Dr. Ron Heinemann and how he wept as we read Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail."

And then I thought about the remarkable place Hampden-Sydney holds in the history of our nation and how sincerely proud I am to be able to represent such an institution as a member of the U.S. Congress representing Virginia's Fifth District.

Founded in 1776, Hampden-Sydney's first Board of Trustees included two men who are among the most important Americans to have ever lived: Patrick Henry and James Madison. It has been said that Patrick Henry, with his Stamp Act Speech in Williamsburg in 1765, lit the fuse of the American Revolution -- a full decade before the first shots were ever fired.

Also a Virginian, James Madison is known as the Father of our U.S. Constitution. We know that Madison's influence was unparalleled in the debating, the adoption, and the ratification of this document that has served as the American blueprint for freedom. It should also be noted that Madison was the first member of Congress elected to serve Virginia's Fifth District in 1789. Indeed, if Madison had not been elected to that first Congress, many argue that the Bill of Rights would never have been adopted.

When I was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2001, my father gave to me a very old copy of an official journal of the first session of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1776. In this journal, there is an entry which recounts an application by the early trustees of this college to the newly formed Virginia legislature for what was essentially a charter for this new school called "Hampden Sidney."

This application begins by noting the importance of and need for education in our budding republic. The trustees further note the fact that at that time in Virginia, there was only one college located near the Virginia capital at Williamsburg -- the College of William and Mary -- and that because of "the ravages of a destructive war" it was not safe to send students to Williamsburg. They argue that, for the sake of the future of our republic and its citizens, it is imperative that this new school -- removed from "the midst of camps"-- be supported.

In arguing for recognition by the Virginia legislature, the trustees conclude: "That the prospect of leaving an extensive republick young and inexperienced, before it hath acquired stability, to be guided by the councils and defended by the arms of unskilful and unlettered men, is too unfavorable to be indulged by any lover of his country."

And we know the rest of the story. This college, literally born in the crucible of revolution, has faithfully served the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the citizens of our great nation for the last 239 years. This is a legacy that inspires me; and I hope that it is a legacy that inspires you.

And so, in ultimately accepting Dr. Howard's gracious invitation, I realized that this opportunity amounted to more than just the delivery of a speech that may or may not be remembered 25 years from now. In fact, it is an opportunity -- if not an obligation -- to take a few minutes to salute this great institution -- and the parents and families who have made our time here possible -- and to give thanks for what Hampden-Sydney has given to those of us who have passed through these gates.

It has been said that education is the greatest gift that a young person can ever be given. I believe that is true. But I also believe that there is a particular value to the liberal arts education you have received at Hampden-Sydney College.

It is a good thing when education provides a person with the training necessary to perform a particular job; however, what I hope you have learned here is more than that. With a liberal arts education, you have gained an underlying understanding -- through history, through literature, through philosophy, through rhetoric, through math, and through science -- in not just what to think, but how to think.

During your time here, I hope you also have gained an understanding of the fundamental principles expressed by our Founders in our three charters of freedom -- our Declaration of Independence, our U.S. Constitution, and our Bill of Rights. I trust you will carry with you a full appreciation of our Founders' understanding of the fundamental rights of man and their belief that only a system of representative democracy and capitalism -- supported by the rule of law -- would guarantee the God-given rights for which our Founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

And yes … it is critically important that you have studied global cultures, but I also hope that you have learned and do not forget that it is Western culture that has given to this country -- and to the world -- the greatest freedoms and the greatest prosperity ever known to man.

So now that you are headed toward the Hampden-Sydney gates with the gift of a Hampden-Sydney education in hand, it seems appropriate to close by considering just what it means to be a good citizen.

As a member of Congress, I am reminded daily of the tremendous challenges that we face as a nation -- here and abroad. At home, we face the challenges of unsustainable debt and deficits and a sluggish economic recovery that requires us to re-examine the proper size and scope of government. We face the challenges of a society where our family structures have broken down and where a dismal percentage of our citizens even participate in our election process. And abroad the challenges are equally daunting -- whether it is the prospect of a nuclear Iran or of a meltdown in Ukraine.

Stop and recall the words of our nation's founders and this college's trustees in 1776. They believed that the success of our young republic would depend on the education, the virtue, and the civic-mindedness of its citizens. But they also knew that the importance of education was more than academic and that good citizens would have to do more than simply learn and understand these principles -- good citizens would have to defend them -- and they would even have to die for them.

And so as we continue to face these challenges, we will continue to engage in the debates -- and the battles -- that go to the heart of the principles outlined at the very founding of our nation -- the principles of individual freedom, free markets, and the rule of law. The civic obligations required in a free society are not easy, but with good citizens that are educated and engaged, our Founders knew, and I believe, that the greatest challenges facing our nation can be met and that they will be met.

So to the Hampden-Sydney Class of 2015: Congratulations, and I want you to know that this great country is depending on you. Just as we depended upon you in 1776 to cultivate, defend, and care for a new nation -- we depend on you today to lead us into the future -- leaving this country stronger for the next generation. Good luck; God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

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