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№ 2009.012 — Stanford University — Commencement keynote
Anthony Kennedy
U.S. Supreme Court justice
Justice Anthony Kennedy urges Stanford graduates to see themselves as trustees of freedom under law, arguing that American freedom carries a duty to help secure it for others around the world. Drawing on examples from his teaching in China, the absence of the rule of law in struggling nations, and the costs of corruption and lack of property rights, he contends that law is an instrument of progress rather than a threat. He calls on graduates to know and revere their constitutional heritage and to use their interconnected, empowered generation to advance law and freedom globally.
Key moments
- 01 Freedom carries the duty to secure it for others, and freedom requires law
- 02 Examples from teaching in China and the 'Legally Blonde' anecdote about taking risks
- 03 Illustrations of life without rule of law: fines, human trafficking, business licensing, water crisis
- 04 Contrast with Solzhenitsyn's view of law, and the call to revere and defend the Constitution
Visual speech map
Anthony Kennedy at Stanford, 2009
A commencement address about freedom under law, constitutional heritage, civic duty, and global responsibility.
- 01 Trustees of freedom
- 02 Law enables liberty
- 03 China teaching
- 04 Risk
- 05 No rule of law
- 06 Corruption
- 07 Constitution
- 08 Global duty
Trusteeship
Freedom carries duty
Kennedy asks graduates to see themselves as trustees of freedom under law, responsible for more than private liberty.
Freedom is inherited and held for others.
American liberty carries global obligation.
Freedom needs structure to endure.
Teaching
Law as progress
Examples from teaching and global encounters show law as a practical instrument for human dignity and development.
Classroom stories make legal ideals concrete.
Professional courage includes entering unfamiliar places.
Law can enable commerce, safety, and civic trust.
Absence
What happens without law
Arbitrary fines, trafficking, licensing barriers, water crises, corruption, and insecure property rights reveal the cost of legal failure.
Without law, power becomes unpredictable.
People need enforceable protections.
Security lets communities build.
Heritage
Know and defend the Constitution
The speech closes by linking constitutional reverence to an interconnected generation's responsibility to advance freedom globally.
Heritage must be known to be defended.
Interconnection gives graduates new reach.
Use law to widen freedom.
Transcript
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