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№ 2010.026 — University of Michigan — Commencement address
Barack Obama
Field: politics
President Obama addresses the University of Michigan's class of 2010, reflecting on the health of American democracy amid economic crisis and divisive politics. He argues that democracy has thrived through adapting government to changing times, maintaining civility in public debate, and active citizen participation. Drawing on historical examples and Kennedy's Peace Corps speech delivered at Michigan, he urges graduates to seek out opposing views, engage with diverse people, and contribute to public life.
Key moments
- 01 Reading letters from ordinary Americans, including a kindergartener asking if people are being nice
- 02 Arguing that the debate over government should focus on smarter government rather than big versus small
- 03 Calling for civility and warning that vilifying rhetoric forecloses compromise
- 04 Urging graduates to seek out opposing views and participate in public life, invoking JFK's Peace Corps challenge
Transcript
The full transcript is hosted by the original publisher. Commencement Archive links to the source rather than republishing copyrighted text.
Read the full transcript at source →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