First, go back and read Chester E. Finn Jr.’s excellent essay in Politico Magazine. In my view, he perfectly encapsulates the mindset on too many college campuses: dissent is intolerable and therefore must be silenced. It is a dangerous and indeed unsettling trend that students can now (successfully) protest “controversial” commencement speakers simply because they find them disagreeable. What happened to free expression and the free exchange of ideas? I thought one of the reasons for going to college was to debate and discuss different points of view.
This brings me to the following clip. Admiral William McRaven is a Navy SEAL and thus has undergone the most rigorous and intense military training in the world. He doesn’t have time for hurt feelings or ruffled feathers. He explains that life isn't fair -- and that to be successful one must meet adversity head on, take risks, and roll with the punches when the going gets tough. Indeed, as the commencement speaker at the University of Texas at Austin this year, he offered 10 suggestions for how graduates can truly change the world based on things he learned years ago as part of his SEAL training.
Perhaps all of us -- not just the class of 2014 -- should heed his advice:
