I can hardly believe that I am going to quote philosopher/theologian Thomas Aquinas - if only because my father used to quite him to me constantly and it drove me crazy. But - pertaining to this idea of the examined life, Aquinas said
He (or she) ranks very low among fools who say "yes" or "no" without first making distinctions...since often opinion, rushing ahead, inclines to the wrong side and then passion blinds intellect. Far worse than useless...is the quest of a person who casts off from the shore and then fishes for the truth without the art..."
This speaks both to what it means to live an examined life - and to the passionate belief I have - based both on study and experience: that a life without civic engagement is a life cut off - without the ability to truly see the world or to truly know the world - an unexamined life.
It would be impossible to teach in a college and graduate a student who knew ALL of the ins and out of what it means to be any one thing - including a citizen of the world. Someone who understood all aspects of history - the history of women, of persons of color, of science. Someone who appreciated all the intricacies of how economics works, who could go into any cultural situation and appreciate all the particulars and politics they found there. That is impossible, as it is a life-long endeavor that never ends.
But - to introduce that idea - a citizen of the world - and encourage the idea of what that might mean to grow into such a person - well I fully believe that is possible.
You know the phrase 'she lives in a bubble' or my favorite 'he's living in his own private Idaho?' Staying in our bubbles - or our comfort zones - does not allow us to recognize what is fundamentally the same between ourselves and others. We all aspire to justice, we are all born full of goodness and promise (no one has ever held a newborn and not seen this), and we all inhabit the same home - earth.
To be a citizen of the world, we don't need to give up the ideas that are most important to us. Think of yourself as surrounded by a series of concentric circles: first, that bubble you are in, next your family (however you define them), then your neighbors, your fellow citizens. Add the other circles that engulf you - perhaps they are linguistic, professional, gender related. Beyond all of those circles is the biggest one - humanity as a whole. We are all a part of the circle.
People from diverse backgrounds sometimes have difficulty recognizing one another as fellow citizens - and often this happens because actions and motives require, and do not often get, the patience necessary to interpreting them. You are communicators, that is what artists and designers do - so particularly today when the world is so polarized - you bring special skills to bear in helping us to see issues in a new light, solve them in a new way.
Stepping into situations that you are different from what you are used to is important. We all need to be sensitive and empathic interpreters of what we encounter in circumstances that are familiar to us.
You chose to attend an institution that understands that civic engagement is an important component of providing you with an education - one that will make your art and design work stronger in ways that you may not appreciate yet. Today as you receive your diplomas I am thinking of you all with heartfelt good wishes and abiding affection. Keep in touch.
