№ 2006.007 — Liberty University — Commencement address

John McCain

Field: politics

Transcript

McCain congratulates graduates and their parents, then reflects on his own youthful arrogance and the value of debate in a free society. He defends his support for the Iraq War while affirming the right and duty of Americans to argue over such issues, and argues that human rights are God-given and universal, citing genocide in Darfur and Rwanda. He closes by recounting his friendship with David Ifshin, a former Vietnam War critic, to illustrate that political opponents are countrymen, not enemies.

Key moments

01 Reflection on his youthful self-assurance and the humility gained with age
02 Defense of his support for the Iraq War alongside respect for dissent
03 Argument that human rights are universal and God-given, citing Darfur and Rwanda
04 Story of reconciliation with antiwar activist David Ifshin

Transcript

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Provenance

Imported from NPR commencement archive; cross-referenced with Open Commencement DB

NPR archive last updated in 2015; destination availability has not been exhaustively rechecked | Open Commencement DB transcript; not independently verified against the original recording