who help clarify problems and products of our group aspirations, a nation of citizen-leaders who, choices, who build morale and coali- can lead us astray as well as lead us beyond their private and profes- On Freedom and tions, who inspire others and point to aright. Leadership as a process can sional concerns, will also make the the possibilities and promise of what go wrong, it can sometimes be used concerns of human-kind, at the might be: a better society, a better to enslave us as well as to liberate us. very least, their avocation. Leadership nation, a better world. Leadership can be a safe and healthy means only if linked to deeply rooted We shall know we are making prog- Most of our best leaders are lifelong moral ends. Leaders, we need to be ress, not when we produce another learners who with determination, reminded, have been responsible handful of charismatic Mt. Rushmore energy and a passion for improving for the most horrible crimes and the leaders, but when we can boast we 2004 Commencement Remarks things are marked by self-confidence, most tragic follies to disgrace the are a nation no longer in need of by President Thomas E. Cronin optimism and idealism. Most leaders human race. Evil leaders are all too those larger-than-life “great leaders” have a contagious self-confidence, real, past and present. There will because we have become a nation of a relentless optimism and a fearless doubtless always be those who reach citizens who believe one person can idealism that motivates them to out for our darker side, who seek make a difference, and every one of mobilize their associates and collabo- to rule on the basis of fear, hatred, us should try. To the Class of 2004 . . . There is no sure-fire, do-it-yourself us that power wielded justly today rators to undertake tasks they may paranoia, and along the way become leadership kit. Yet a few realities may be wielded corruptly tomorrow. never dreamed they could under- destroyers of our civilized processes. We’re proud of you. We expect a lot about leadership are worth noting. They are the leaders who rally us to take. The power of leadership is the of you. Congratulations. hen you arrived here four protest when they know a policy is power of integrating and creating James Madison understood this years ago, you immediately John Lennon famously noted that wrong or when some of our sisters or distinctive communities of motivated when he wrote that the essence of W enjoyed a greater sense of “life is what happens while you are brothers find their rights and liber- people in search of solutions and government is power, and power personal and intellectual freedom busy making other plans,” and ties diminished. accomplishments. lodged, as it must be, in human than you had previously experienced. I believe it was Benjamin Disraeli hands, will ever be liable to abuse. Today, May 23, 2004, with the libera- who said that “what we anticipate All societies have warrior and Leaders can be single-minded and President Tom Cronin tion of graduation, your freedom seldom occurs; what we least expect diplomatic leaders, liberation or tough-minded and tenacious in their Informed Americans ever since expands even more. generally happens.” exodus-leaders, moral or conscious- beliefs and commitments. Their Madison’s day have feared the ness-raising leaders, intellectual passion for change and achievement potential abuse of power. We are Embrace this freedom; yet under- Rarely can one leader provide an leaders and political as well as orga- may make them abrasive and thorny fond of quoting Lord Acton’s phrase stand its consequences. With free- organization’s entire range of nizational and business leaders. personalities. that “power tends to corrupt” even if dom come obligations. Liberty and leadership needs. Most organiza- Not to be forgotten, too, are artistic we also know from the writings of duty, freedom and responsibility: they tions and societies have all kinds of or cultural leaders. Spirited critical Remember that leadership is Hobbes, Machiavelli and others, that come together. That’s the deal. leaders, and these diverse leaders, in discussion about leadership and the ultimately a relationship or chemis- the absence of power can paralyze turn, are usually highly dependent moral and virtuous uses of power is try between leaders and their us if not corrupt us. We celebrate you today for your for their success on the leadership extremely important. Artists, poets, associates. Leadership is an engage- achievements in learning — and performed by other leaders. Certain critics, scientists, writers, theologians ment among partners and collabora- Just as it is often said that good also for your courage, honor, love, leaders are excellent at creating or and scholars of all kinds often are tors. It is a collective enterprise. leadership requires good “follower- hope and aspirations. And it is our inventing new structures. Others able to help us determine whether we What makes it collective is the ship,” so also leadership needs to hope that each of you will become a are splendid task or managerial are using power or whether power is always on-going, if subtle, interplay be counter-checked and balanced leader in your community and in your leaders — helping to encourage using us. between common needs and wants by a healthy skepticism. Democracy profession, and that in whatever way groups at problem solving. Others of a group and a leader’s capacity to requires us, not as passive/mindless you decide, you will use your imagi- are imaginative social architects, Leadership is not equivalent to understand and respond to these followers but as assertive citizens, nation and your intellectual abilities helping to enrich morale and renew “office-holding or high prestige or collective aspirations. to be questioning of our leaders and to help people. the spirit of an organization or a authority or decision-making.” The never too trusting of any one group people. These are leaders who most lasting and pervasive leader- To study leaders divorced from or individual with too much power. Social justice, civil liberties, human are indispensable in providing the ship is often intangible and comes loyalties and mutual trust and the rights, a sustainable environment, human glue holding us together. Still from people who are not in positions complex interactions they have Effective, desirable leaders are constitutional democracy, healthy other leaders influence us because of high, formal, institutional author- with followers, constituents and people who have learned that the communities and great works of of their integrity, their character and ity. It is the leadership fostered by team members is to miss the most world is an incomparable classroom, art don’t just happen. They require their moral authority. They compel ideas embodied in social, political important aspect of leadership. and life a memorable teacher for countless acts of imagination, cour- us to ask ourselves: Is this justice? Is or artistic movements, in books, in Effective leadership ceases to exist those who are not afraid of it. Leaders age and leadership. this right? They raise their voices on documents, in speeches, and in the when leaders have lost the trust have overcome their fear of failure, behalf of the voiceless and those who memory of valiant lives valiantly and support of their followers — are willing to take reasonable risks, Leadership is all about making things have been hurt or left behind. lived. Intellectual or idea leadership think of King Creon in Sophocles’ and seek out challenges that keep happen that otherwise might not at its best is provided by those, often Antigone, Captain Vere in Melville’s them alive, vital and self-renewing. happen, and about preventing things They are the mentors and conscious- not in high corporate or political posi- Billy Budd or Captain Queeg in from happening that ordinarily would ness raisers who urge us on toward tions, who can clarify values and the Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny. Freedom and obligation: they go happen. It is a process of unlock- social responsibility, social justice, implication of such values for policy. together. Liberty and responsibility: ing the talents and energies of good individual freedom, and racial, reli- Another major reality about the they go together. The answer lies not people so they can work together to gious and sexual tolerance. They Leaders are individuals who help nature of leadership is that strong in producing a few larger-than-life achieve common goals and dreams. are the prescient ones who remind create options and opportunities, leaders, even though they are the leaders, the answer lies in educating

2 Whitman Magazine July 2004 3 Commencement 2 0 0 4

To the Graduates . . . sweat of your labor and your effort. Doing this — making sure that the Raise money for people who run this? How did this become possible? To those of you who have had to life you lead is the one you want to for political office. Be a good citizen Could I have done a thing like this to struggle to get here, who sometimes lead and that you are prepared to lead because that is what it actually means those people? o remember Whitman doubted that you were going to get it this way, whatever anybody says to be a good American. We do need to ask ourselves, as College when you leave. through, remember this: you have — is never easy. It’s not made any Being a good citizen and being a society, as a free people, how we I have taught in the already come too far to settle for less easier by the times we live in. a good American also means look- came to this pass. Those soldiers university systems of than the best. We live in a fearful time, perhaps ing fair and square at disagreeable were acting in the name of America, DCanada, the United Kingdom, and Why am I talking about fear at a the most fearful time for the United realities. Being a good citizen means and they disgraced its name. We have France, and from my experience, moment like this? Because your adult States since the Vietnam War. When living in truth. Living in truth is to ask who authorized them to do so. American higher education is the life is really about to begin: jobs, I graduated, it was June of 1969, hard. It’s hard to face the truth about Who should take responsibility here? best in the world, especially because professions, marriages, relationships, and Americans were dying in the ourselves, and it’s hard to face the We need answers to these ques- of the strength of its private liberal children, responsibilities, burdens, hundreds every week in southeast truth about our country. But we tions, and we need to take responsi- arts colleges. One reason for their worries, and yes, fear. Fear that you Asia. Today as you graduate, young know that living in truth is better bility as citizens that we get answers strength is the astounding generosity are not good enough to make the Americans are dying every day in than living a lie. and that accountability is established, of their alumni, their willingness to grade. Fear that you haven’t got what Iraq. Like Vietnam, Iraq divides We are living a moment of truth in right up the chain of command if give back to the institutions that gave it takes to carry the burden. Fear that Americans, and so it should. America Iraq, a moment in which we have to need be, so that we do not go there them their chance. Please continue you can’t meet the expectations of all is a democracy as well as a commu- look fair and square at disagreeable again as a country. that fine tradition. those people watching you today as nity of sacrifice. But sacrifice is only realities, in which we have to look Responsibility is a key element of Having given you a piece of finan- you step up and accept your degree. acceptable in a democracy if its at ourselves. The pictures from Abu living fearlessly. Taking responsibil- Michael Ignatieff is the Carr Professor cial advice, let me move on to the Fight the fear. Remember the rationale is supported by a majority Ghraib prison are a kind of mirror in ity: not being afraid to “carry the of Human Rights Policy and director of staple fare of any commencement most important thing about a life is of citizens. Questioning the rationale which we have to look at ourselves can,” when the can has to be carried the Carr Center for Human Rights at address: moral advice. No person that it is yours and nobody else’s. for war is not unpatriotic. Democratic and ask: what kind of people did by someone, not being afraid to the Kennedy School of Government, of my advanced years, given this You cannot live a life for the sake debate does not demean the sacrifice Harvard University. His most recent honor, can avoid succumbing to the of your family, your parents, your of brave men and women: indeed, book is The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics temptation to give advice to an audi- brothers, your sisters, your children. democratic debate — the lifeblood in an Age of Terror (Princeton Univer- ence held captive like this, and I shall A life without duty to these loved of freedom — is what the bravery is sity Press, 2004). succumb like all the others. ones would not be a good life, but a supposed to be defending. My theme is “living fearlessly in a life lived entirely to meet their As young citizens, you should not fearful world.” Living fearlessly is not expectations is not a good life. It is be bystanders in this debate. This the same thing as never being afraid. the ones who love us most who put war concerns you because its course Living Fearlessly Pictured at the top of the page, from It’s good to be afraid occasionally. the fear into us, who burden us with and its outcome will determine your left, are assistant commencement Fear is a great teacher. What’s not expectations and responsibilities we security for years to come. The marshal Sonja Ray, class of 2005; good is living in fear, allowing fear to feel unable to meet. So we need to conduct of the war defines America graduates David Beckley and Laura dictate your choices, allowing fear to say: this is our life, not yours, and we as a nation: its moral reputation at in a Fearful World Bartholomew; graduate Tiger Kush- define who you are. Living fearlessly are going to do this our way. home and abroad. So in this election amba, and professor Rogers Miles. means standing up to fear, taking One of the greatest feelings in life year, when so many young Americans its measure, refusing to let it shape is the conviction that you have lived don’t bother to vote, please don’t and define your life. Living fearlessly the life you wanted to live — with listen to the cynics who say it doesn’t The 2004 Commencement Address means taking risks, taking gambles, the rough and smooth, the good and matter how you vote or whether you not playing it safe. It means refusing the bad — but yours, shaped by your vote. Please don’t listen to the people by Michael Ignatieff to take no for an answer when you own choices, and not someone else’s. who say: I don’t know who to believe, Commencement photography by Adam are sure that the answer should have To do that, you have to conquer fear, so I’m staying home on election day. May 23, 2004 Hardtke, ’03, and Lore Fauver. been yes. It means refusing to settle get control of the expectations that Take part. Get involved. Become a for less than what is your due, what drive your life and decide what goals precinct captain. Drive people to the is yours by right, what is yours by the are truly yours to achieve. polls. Canvass for your candidate.

4 Whitman Magazine July 2004 5 the 372nd Military Police Company Consider which it is.” The immediate is, of ematician and atheist philosopher, who put the note under a superior’s course, the ocean close around the said the same thing: “. . . in all that door detailing the abuse by fellow the Duck duck, and the infinite is the total differentiates between a good life and members of his unit. It was his disclo- ocean and all that the ocean itself is a bad one, the world is a unity.” Both sure that led to the uncovering of the by George Ball, a part of, that is, the universe. writers base their notions of ethics worst scandal in American military Professor of Biblical This idea, that the universe is a on the unity of all things and how you history since the My Lai Massacre. Literature Emeritus single entity, all parts interrelated express that unity in your living and Consider what he was up against: and interdependent and equally deciding. loyalty to his own unit, fear that he entitled to be valued, is the taproot In the last chapter of the Divine would not be believed, fear that his bout 60 years ago the New of all philosophy, all religion, and Comedy, Dante is finally ushered into fellow unit members would take Yorker magazine contained all ethics: the concept of a single the presence of the Eternal Light, revenge if they found out or ostracize A a whimsical poem, called universal entity of which everything and he says, “I saw how it contained him and his family. He risked himself, “Consider the Duck,” which offered is part, to which everything belongs. within its depth all things bound his career, and his good name to get a profound insight. The poet imag- The universe has but a single mean- in a single book by love.” Dante of the truth out. Because he saw some- ined a duck sitting calmly out in the ing, and whatever that meaning is, course went beyond the unity of all Solemn graduates Scott thing in Abu Ghraib that shamed him Atlantic Ocean: it is our meaning, too. things to the Christian God who was as a human being and as an Ameri- Reinhold Niebuhr, a leading 20th- viewed as the creator of that unity, in Erickson, left, and Noelle Now we are ready to look at something can. Something that made him afraid. century Christian theologian, said, which Dante sees all things as bound Chung contemplate Michael special. Something that was wrong. “All moral demands are demands of together in a single volume. The Ignatieff’s words. It is a duck riding the ocean a hundred Thanks to his fearlessness, we are unity.” We should therefore cooper- duck does not add this theological feet beyond the surf. in the middle of a painful but essen- ate and share in ways that will reflect refinement. He gives no thought as No, it isn’t a gull; tial moment of truth in righting our the fact that everything affects the to how this unity comes to be. A gull always has a raucous sound course in Iraq and the wider Middle welfare of everything else. Bertrand Neither does Montaigne, the great about him. demand that someone take respon- This gives us reason to fear. There East. Some voices are saying: we are Russell, Nobel Prize-winning math- 16th-century French essayist, who This is some sort of a duck and he sibility when everyone is ducking it. are people out there who want to kill making too much of this. Some voices cuddles in the swells; It’s hard to be responsible. It’s hard us and destroy our way of life. We are calling on America to circle the He isn’t cold; he is thinking things to take responsibility. But that is what have to live with this. It is a fact of life wagons. Some are even saying that over. it means to be an adult and a citizen. nowadays like the weather. our enemies do worse, so we should There is a big heaving on the Atlantic, I don’t like watching leaders who There is only one thing we can respond in kind. The problem here is and he is part of it. won’t take responsibility for what do about this: live the way we are that this is America. This is a consti- He looks a bit like a mandarin, or the happened in those prisons. I don’t supposed to live, as our Constitution tutional republic based on the rule of Lord Buddha, like ordinary soldiers carrying the commands us to, with dignity and law and equal respect for all persons. Meditating under the Bo-tree. Baccalaureate can for errors of judgment and respect for all. Being an American is We can’t pretend that we can bend the But he has hardly enough above the errors of command that went to the not easy. It is hard. We are required rules any which way. We made the eyes to be a philosopher. top of the chain of command. We to keep some serious promises. We rules for ourselves. We have to live He has poise, however, which is what a deserve better from our leaders. are judged by a high standard, one by them. Specialist Darby understood philosopher must have. We deserve better of those who we crafted for ourselves in the found- that. He is one of the fearless ones, The Baccalaureate Addresses He can rest while the Atlantic heaves, serve in our name. ing documents of the republic, the someone who fought fear and doubt because he rests in the Atlantic. May 22, 2004 We need to acknowledge that the ones that talk about the equality of in order to tell a necessary if painful Probably he doesn’t know how large the United States is a great country, but all people, the ones that tell us that truth. Darby’s mother said of her son, Atlantic is. it is currently feared and hated by government is of the people, by the “Tell the truth, always remain true And neither do you. millions of people throughout the people, and for the people. We need to yourself and remain true to your But he realizes it. world. It is hated for being what it to live by this, at home and abroad, country. I think he did all three.” He And what does he do, I ask you? He is: the most successful and powerful and it is just about the only thing we certainly did, and our country is the sits down in it. country in the history of the world. can do to face the hatred of those better for it. He reposes in the immediate, as if it It is hated for what it does, for the who want to destroy us. Our best Not everyone is going to be a Dr. George Ball, who has taught, were the infinite — which it is. policies of its governments, in all defense is to stay true to who we Specialist Darby. Your lives may not guided, counseled, and mentored That is religion, and the duck has it. administrations. As young adults, are. Our best defense is to refuse to call for or require any special hero- Whitman students since 1960, He has made himself part of the you have to take responsibility to do live in fear, of them, of ourselves, of ism. Yet all lives require an encounter celebrated his 89th birthday on boundless, by easing himself in to it. something about this hatred, this anyone. with fear, a battle with an emotion Commencement day, May 23. Just where it touches him. intense dislike for everything that We have examples to guide us. that can carry us away from our true I like the little duck. America is and does that is sweeping America is constantly affording us selves. So we need to remember He doesn’t know much. through the Middle East and Europe. proof that its people understand what heroic people’s example, so that we But he has religion. You may think it is undeserved. You it is to be a member of this particular can live ordinary lives decently and may think it is unfair. You would be democratic experiment. It is right to in truth. My final word to you is this: One line seems to me as important right. But that doesn’t matter. The remember Army Specialist Joseph in a fearful time, try to be one of the as any line in poetry I know, even in fact is America is as unpopular as at Darby and celebrate his fearlessness fearless ones. Shakespeare: “He reposes in the anytime in the last half century. today. He is the young reservist in immediate, as if it were the infinite —

6 Whitman Magazine July 2004 7 sees the great sequence as including Developing Faculty mentoring gives life and death: “The same transition students “wings to explore you made from death to life, without New Wings new paths,” said Heidi suffering, without fear, make it again Dobson, associate from life to death. . . . Your death is by Heidi Dobson, professor of biology, in her one of the parts of the order of the Associate Professor Baccalaureate address. universe; it is part of the life of the o f B i o l o g y ’02 Scott Rinear, world.” In a complete change of approach, we could look at a great line in a Dr. uring your years at Whitman of papers, advising, and completion the research station is located, is Seuss book, Happy Birthday To You. College, you have taken of senior theses and projects. But serene, open, and beautiful in its It is, “There is no one on earth who D many different courses, in strongest perhaps is the mentoring simplicity. We travel on bicycles, live is youer than you.” If we switch the large classes and in small classes, that takes place in the research healthily, and a team spirit pervades angle a little, the sentence becomes, but you have also had close one-to- collaborations between students and our group. “There is nothing in the universe that one interactions with teachers. It is faculty in the many disciplines across The research, like all academic is more fully a part of the universe during these more focused interac- campus. We are fortunate to be in a research, has its ups and downs, its than you are.” The universe is a tions that the greatest benefits of college that fosters this wonderful challenging, frustrating times, and single entity; all parts equally belong mentoring emerge. Working with form of collaborative learning. its uplifting, exciting times. Through- the literature, brainstorming sessions and are to be equally valued. mentors can mark your life and trans- In the biological sciences, guid- out, the students and I work closely to try to make sense out of the find- I recall that when I was a student form it, opening new doors to visions ing students through the research together, going over basic concepts, ings, out of what sometimes seems and first encountered the Jain reli- and goals, yielding new tools to reach process is a fundamental part of their overcoming problems and bottle- to be chaos. These are times of major gion, learning that some Jains will these goals, giving you wings to growth. It is through this hands-on necks, and discussing the mean- breakthroughs, when new connec- not drink water until they have first explore paths that will lead to a fulfill- research that students come to really ing of it all. Students help design tions are found. Excitement over new filtered it through a fine sieve to ing life. understand the essence of science, experimental protocols, develop discoveries, and a sense of humor, avoid consuming any invisibly small We all have mentors. Ranging that we see our students transform procedures to accomplish delicate do wonders during this intellectually creatures, it seemed to me at the from family members to teachers to into scientists; it is here that the work efficiently, including marking demanding stage. time that this was carrying the idea colleagues, they offer valuable advice students develop the strongest wings of very small bees, become acute to Taking Whitman students to of the importance of all life too far. and strong guidance, share long-lived that will carry them to new horizons. new forms of life, learn fundamental other countries for research has the However, I must at the very least teachings, provide encouragement, My greatest passion in teaching techniques, go through the rigors added benefit of bringing them into assign major ethical value to those and serve as inspiring models. They at Whitman College is the opportu- of extensive data collection, and a new culture. On Öland, friendships who treat all life as important and open our eyes to new worlds. They nity to mentor students in research receive training in the handling of are made with local inhabitants and deserving to be honored. believe in us and our ability to reach and in their senior theses. These are special equipment in the lab and in with people from diverse countries, This does not mean that living for the stars. special, intense periods of growth, the field. The work requires creativity knowledge of new lands is acquired, beings cannot consume other Mentoring is not necessarily one- both intellectually and emotion- in exploring ways to build artificial and participation in local festivities living creatures, but it does mean sided. In fact, it is most often a two- ally. Some students do research on flower models with different odors leads to a greater appreciation of that when human beings take and way street, with both parties learning campus, but most of my collaborative and colors so that bees will be inter- local traditions. And in completing consume other life, it needs to be from each other. Extensive mentor- research is done with students who ested in them and will fly to them the cultural exchange, our students done with respect and with aware- ing occurs here at Whitman College, have joined me in Sweden during as they do to real flowers. Students share their own traditions. When all ness that all life is eventually sacri- and you have all been part of it. In the past 10 summers, investigating use innovation and resourcefulness this is done, we are left with close ficed for other life to perpetuate the the realm of student-teacher mentor- various aspects of the interactions in coming up with different ways and lasting friendships, good memo- production of new life. The universe ing, it occurs at many different times: between flowers and wild bees. The to effectively collect data — and to ries, greater knowledge and under- is indeed a single entity with all parts through independent studies, writing setting on the island of Öland, where keep bees from flying out of cages! standing, and new visions and wings. interrelated and interdependent. But research also involves mechani- The exchange between student and Thus, all the world’s major reli- cal skills, making old equipment fit mentor has been two-sided, a true gions are true insofar as they foster current needs, figuring out how to form of cross-pollination, and we the unity of all things, which they put up tents . . . and having to deal Rising above her classmates at top is have all gained and grown from the do, for they all explicitly affirm the with eratic climatic variables such as process. English major Sara Weihmann. Above, golden rule, placing all of us at the rain and wind. So, as you contemplate the road pianist Stephen Beus, class of 2004, takes service of all beings who can be All newly developed experimen- ahead of you, savor the many new a bow after playing at Baccalaureate. affected by an act or decision of ours. tal designs are passed on to future directions that have been opened Beus won the 2004 national Kosciuszko All the world’s religions are wrong teams of students, so that we are all to you during your close interac- Chopin Competition in New York. insofar as they offer some unique learning from each other, not only tions with mentors here at Whitman and separate destiny apart from over the course of one summer, but College and at other places and times the interwoven life of the universe, across years and different groups of of your life. And remember that we where everything is part of every- Amelia Jones, ’03, prepares flowers for The 2003 “bee team” included, from left, students. are here also to help you after you thing else. This oneness of all things experiments at the ecological research Jordan Bell, ’03, Professor Heidi Dobson, After the gathering of results, graduate, and that you can turn back is what the duck was experiencing. It station in Öland, Sweden. Jamie Williamson, ’04, Jana Seaman, ’03, there are, as in all research, the long to us when you need support in find- is indeed the essence of religion. and Tim Johnson, ’04. hours of data compilation, reading ing your path.

8 Whitman Magazine July 2004 9 The Power (2) a cinematic, mid-20th-century not enough that the rest of the world What’s important is attention to marriage.” Before certain American fantasy version of (3) a understands Americans — Ameri- language when writing or speak- late-19th-century German of Language depression-era British book about cans need to understand others, as ing. Today there are certainly many scholars started using the (4) the glories and foibles of Edward- well. When virtually no Americans people who wish that Oregon legisla- term “homosexual,” it was by Robert Tobin, ian England and its nannies — making or executing policy in the tors had been more precise when not linguistically possible to Professor of Foreign doesn’t really translate, although Middle East can speak or read they defined marriage as “a civil talk about the really quite Languages & Literatures there are certainly German-dubbed Arabic, is it any wonder that we don’t contract entered into in person by abstract notion of a certain versions of Mary Poppins. If you must get right all of the nuances of the males [plural] at least 17 years of age group of people who are know, the word is translated as situation in Iraq? And while we all and females [plural] at least 17 years romantically and sexually “Supercalifragilistischexpialigorisch.” probably already suspected that too of age.” Most commentators agree inclined toward members of am deeply honored to have the The same difficulties of transla- few Americans were pursuing stud- that those vague plurals leave unclear their own sex. This doesn’t opportunity to speak at the Bacca- tion exist in reverse. There are ies of Arabic and of other Asian and just how many “males” and “females” mean that there weren’t such I laureate of the class of 2004, espe- many words, phrases, and concepts African languages, even the study of are supposed to be in any particular people, but it does suggest cially because we have experienced enmeshed in their own contexts in Spanish, French, and German is not marriage. that power was organized a similar fate in the last four years. other languages that lose power and as strong as it should be, meaning In fact, many of the controver- through different linguistic Having just completed a four-year meaning as they are translated into that the cultures of Europe and Latin sies surrounding hot-button social channels — there were other “Many of the controversies surrounding hot- stint as an administrator, I — like the English — if they are translated into America are also becoming increas- issues emerge from questions of groups and other exclusions. button social issues emerge from questions of graduates of 2004 — have acquired English. One aspect of the global ingly foreign to the United States. language. Let me make clear that the And once you create a group language,” said Bob Tobin, professor of German. a host of new skills and learned a dominion of the United States is But my concern for language is only agenda that I want to promote of people called “homo- great deal from the many disciplines that a vast amount of American not confined to foreign languages. here is the linguistic one — I am not sexuals,” then you establish

question of where transsexual people The center of the proud group fit into our definition of marriage. at right is Rich Harris, who Instead, I’d like to shift to one more won an elite NCAA Ethnic point. Sometimes — perhaps now, as conflict rages in the Middle East Minority Postgraduate and contentious social issues disturb scholarship. Pictured next is our family gatherings — the enjoy- Samantha Saalfield, who is ment and study of literature may headed to Dartmouth with a seem to be escapist. I’d like to close full-ride fellowship. Columns of by contradicting that assumption. graduates stand ready to march Literature is that kind of language (third photo), and far right, that takes itself seriously. Literature magna cum laude graduate is language that not only conveys Nathanael LeRud reacts to a a message, imparts information, speaker. promulgates an opinion; literature is language that also constantly gauges and monitors itself as language. And if language is as important as I have attempted to demonstrate in these few minutes, then literature taught at Whitman College. As I try cultural production is translated into We need to be vigilant in our concern bringing up these issues in order to a linguistic space for the discussion can serve a valuable function in to distill the meaning that I take from other languages, while very little for English as well. I, for instance, brow-beat you into a certain political of whether this group of people constantly revealing to us the struc- my experiences, I repeatedly return produced abroad makes its way into like to think of myself as a hard-liner stance. To stay with the example of deserves or does not deserve certain tures, strengths, weaknesses, and to the power of language. the English-language market. In this on issues of punctuation. You know: same-sex marriage, it is striking how rights, for instance the right to beauties of language. My appreciation for the impor- respect, our culture is far more close- commas and periods come before significant language is in this matter. marriage. Indeed, there were already So I will conclude by express- tance of language developed with my minded than others, many of which quotation marks, unless you have Arguably, what is at stake is nothing people in the 1870s in Germany, just ing my heartfelt congratulations to study of foreign languages. In this are avidly studying America. a parenthetical reference, in which but the very word “marriage,” to a few years after the articulation of you, the graduates of 2004, and best field we are daily confronted with our At the same time many people case you close the quote, insert the which both the state and a variety of the concept of homosexuality, calling wishes to your family and friends. inadequacies, inadequacies that are in other countries are assiduously parenthetical reference, and then religious organizations lay claim. In for the right of homosexual couples If any of you are in the mood for really a testament to the rich possibil- learning English, while relatively few place your comma or period. If, any case, all sides agree that in this to marry. Here you have the origins taking any final words of wisdom, ities of expression of human experi- Americans bother to study foreign however, the quotation is indented, debate words — or at least the word of a contemporary controversy in the here would be mine: keep learning ence. Someone might ask, how do languages. The fact that people in the then you don’t need quotation marks “marriage” — matter. innovations of 19th-century language. about other cultures and working you say “supercalifragilisticexpialido- rest of the world know English leads and the parenthetical reference The whole question regarding the I will leave aside the even more on foreign languages, punctuate cious” in German? Well, you don’t. some Americans to think that their comes after the period. It’s not really vocabulary of marriage might never profound question of whether the correctly, pay attention to the linguis- And even if you did, the whole con- linguistic weaknesses don’t really that hard, you should have learned have come up, had not an emer- language of “male” and “female” is tic dimension of social issues, and text of Mary Poppins — of (1) our matter — after all, “they can under- it in high school, and I hope you’ve gent discourse of sexuality made itself adequate to describe gender read a good novel. 21st-century ironic reflections on stand us.” Even if that were true, it is figured it out by now. possible the very discussion of “gay relations. I won’t even address the

10 Whitman Magazine July 2004 11 Alex Raines, left, and Andrew McLean Music major Jill Becker Jessica Lawson, class of ’04, James Garrison, left, Gaurav Garg, and Marie Hoguet, right and Lauren McCune, ’06

As a student of literature, I turn Such matters are not just the idio- forgiveness in our personal lives and should not be discarded or After Accountability to Shakespeare for advice. In the syncratic concern of an Elizabethan could have broader effects by the irresponsibility will reign supreme. four great tragedies, Hamlet, Othello, playwright. In our own world, even renovation of the human spirit one But rather than wallowing in the King Lear, and Macbeth, Shake- on the international level, we have heart at a time. Even if the world is corrosive self-indulgence of blame, The Phi Beta Kappa Address speare gives us an anatomy of evil horrifying examples of the account- not made perfect, it could be made let, after accountability, come and shows how it ravages the heart ability that issues only in blame and better. We could at least purify our forgiveness: By Edward Foster, Mina Schwabacher and destroys worlds. In his last two retribution. In the Middle East Pales- own lives, liberate them from self- If this be magic, let it be an art Professor of English & the Humanities plays, The Winter’s Tale and The tinians kill Israelis, and Israelis kill destructive hatred, ennoble both Lawful as eating. May 22, 2004 Tempest, he shows how the only way Palestinians, and the false gratifica- ourselves and the forgiven, and allow to transcend treachery, corruption, tion of blame and retribution perpetu- us to, as W. B. Yeats put it, regain This week I retire after 40 years in and malice is by the healing power ates violence and gives feeble and “radical innocence.” In the attempt academic life. Thank you and all your of forgiveness. In The Winter’s Tale, illusory comfort. On a more hopeful we make ourselves vulnerable, but it fellow students for allowing me to he word “accountability” has tive opportunities that should come the main character, Leontes, disrupts note, in Northern Ireland, the West- may be a chance worth taking, and have had a long career without ever become popular in the last few next. The linguist in me cannot help his whole world by irrationally and ern European counterpart of Israel this generosity of spirit may be as having had a job. And congratula- years. That can be a good thing, but notice that blame is a really ugly peremptorily accusing and convicting and Palestine, slow progress seems catching as the culture of blame. tions to members of Phi Beta Kappa, Tbut let me explain what I think can word. Just listen to it. Blame, blame, his innocent wife, Hermione, of infi- to be under way to break the spiral of It is traditional to give graduates, who have understood that academic go wrong with accountability in the blame, blame, blame. Its explosive delity. He wreaks havoc and causes revenge that the unrestrained culture especially graduates so distinguished inquiry is not just one of the wonder- critique of individuals, institutions, beginning consonant and its long, irreparable harm. . . . [Too late, he] of blame engenders. Perhaps most as Phi Beta Kappa members, advice ful things to do at Whitman, but the and nations. My concern is not with blaring, nasal vowel: it is an ugly recognizes his guilt and is profoundly hopefully, imperfect as it is, in South about personal success and changing primary and noblest reason for our the word accountability, though it is word for an ugly idea, whose ugli- repentant. . . . The ending is bitter- Africa the Truth and Reconciliation the world. My advice is humbler, coming together as a community. not a particularly felicitous word, and ness somehow gloats that we have sweet; evil has its consequences. Commission has a chance to provide but maybe harder: to replace the it does have the ring more of book- uncovered wrongdoing and mislead- But Shakespeare’s point, and mine, one model of how the pattern can be ugliness of blame with the beauty of The above is slightly abbreviated from keeping than of moral philosophy. ingly suggests that, by the very act, is that after accountability comes broken. forgiveness. Accountability cannot Professor Foster’s Phi Beta Kappa address. Still, it is just a six-syllable English we have done something worthwhile. forgiveness, not a residual, aching Although I suspect it is unrealistic word composed of not disagreeable I want to speak out against simple blame. Leontes says: to think that such efforts will end the sounds. Nor is my problem with the blame and the self-deception it facili- sad cycles of blame and retribution If this be magic, let it be an art idea of accountability, if by it we mean tates; I am afraid we are becoming on the international level, perhaps it Lawful as eating. that our actions, behavior, and perfor- a “culture of blame.” After account- is not too much to hope that we mance should be assessed, and we ability, we seem to be satisfied with Even if the errors of the past cannot could start to eliminate the pattern in Professor Ed Foster should be held responsible for them. blame and, sometimes, if we can get be entirely undone, blame kills the our own lives. Is it not possible that presented the annual My problem, as my title indicates, up the energy, retribution. I think we spirit; forgiveness has the magic of with our colleagues and associates Phi Beta Kappa address is what happens after accountability. should ask more of ourselves. generative and regenerative power; it we could take accountability beyond at a luncheon honoring Too often, accountability has become In some ways, laying blame seems gives life. blame to forgiveness and thereby new members and their simply a code word for assigning so gratifying. Having identified the In The Tempest, Shakespeare free ourselves of a corrosive poison? blame. But true accountability should guilty or deficient among us, we can takes forgiveness a step farther. . . . If the quality of mercy is “twice-blest”, families. He spoke of have larger consequences; it should feel good about our intelligence and Prospero uses the most magical as Portia says in The Merchant of “sad cycles of blame lead to a genuine recognition of error, moral superiority. However, without power of all — he forgives [the Venice, in blessing the giver and the and retribution,” and deficiency, or culpability and an suggesting that human beings should villains]. On this magical island, receiver, is not forgiveness even encouraged his attempt to remedy whatever has gone not be held responsible for their Prospero forgives even the unre- more blessed in that it frees the audience to “take wrong. actions, I would like to suggest that pentant Antonio and Sebastian. That blamer, the blamed, and the sur- accountability beyond I am afraid that as individuals and blame, and even blame and punish- is probably too much to hope for, rounding societies that are damaged blame to forgiveness.” as a society we too often let blame ment, is an insufficient response, and and perhaps even dangerous, in our by the noxious destructiveness of substitute for renewal; that is, we are that blame can be a corrosive reac- unmagical world. But it does point to unrelieved grievance? inclined to content ourselves with tion to culpability, destructive of the an ideal which, if beyond our capac- Perhaps the replacement of a blame and not go on to the construc- blamer and useless for the blamee. ity, is worth imagining. culture of blame with a culture of

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