San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Class of 2020 positioned to make societal changes
Valedictorians' speeches are intended to sum up a shared experience, distill the aspirations of a graduating class and maybe get a laugh or two. That's true whether they are delivered virtually, to an audience limited by social distancing measures or, as here, in print.
Good morning, afternoon or evening, Seguin High School graduates, our families, teachers, administrators, school board members and others.
First off, I'd like to commend everyone — students, teachers and parents alike — for holding out and coping through these past two and a half months. This experience has been like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic has etched this time into us all. As it continues to spread through our country, it coincides with the Class of 2020's end to our 13 years of school — ironically quarantining us immediately following our Senior Skip Day, making ours the longest Senior Skip Day in history!
I wish I could give a happy, carefree speech. One where we overcame impossible odds using high school clichés, and how the prize at the end of the journey was actually the friends we made along the way. I would love to give that forgettable speech, because in times of tragedy, people turn to light-hearted distractions to ease their worry and pain.
I cannot, however, give that speech, because while distractions may ease the pain momentarily, they also stop us from dealing with and removing the root of the pain in the first place, and I cannot in good faith distract us at such a critical time.
We are at a tipping point in history, not just for ourselves but for the world. Those of us who are going to university to better ourselves will find heavy debts and empty pockets, all for a dream that may never come to fruition. And those of us who are going directly into the workforce so we can contribute to society will find one of the worst job markets in the history of this country and where wages don't cover expenses.
Many of our parents — and some of us — have been forced to choose between possibly contracting and spreading the virus to family and paying the bills.
There are many legitimate questions to ask. Was a lockdown initiated before it was too late? Why was action delayed for two months, resulting in 30 times as many deaths as 9/11? Were medical supplies and protective equipment distributed to people who needed them? Why were federal stockpiles sold to private firms, now being sold to the highest bidder? Are the 30 million people who got laid off or lost jobs because of the pandemic being protected?
As states reopen, why are unemployment benefits being taken from people who aren't returning to work for fear of getting infected, losing what little support they had?
As we look at the failings of our society as it begins to collapse around us, know that this is not a partisan issue. In fact, the subjugation of the common people may be the only universal thing to ever cross the political aisle. No single person is responsible for this failure. It is the fault of our system, built upon ideals faltering to greed and corruption.
This pandemic has acted as a stress test on our current system and our system has failed us. Is this what we are to expect?
We have been brought up through turmoil. Our infancy was welcomed with 9/11, war and genocide. Our childhood reared with a great recession, and our adolescence was met with the mechanization of murder. As we emerge as adults, we are greeted with acts of nature biblical in proportion.
Is this the new normal? Will we be forced to continue living our lives, growing more and more worried and pained, as the oceans swallow the land and people begin to die in the millions? Will we be complacent? Will we become capable of only thinking about what fast food we'll eat that night, because thinking of anything else is too tiring? Is that going to be our new normal?
My greatest fear in life is not being able to change anything, because if nothing changes, then there eventually won't be anything left. Will that become the new normal? I hope not, and I hope you also hope not.
The question then becomes “What are we going to do about it?” Will we maintain the same system that created all these problems for the sake of normalcy, or will we create our own system, one that promises to bring about actual solutions?
I realize a graduation speech is not going to bring about actual solutions. But maybe we, the Class of 2020, are perfectly positioned to be who will. We know how to face insurmountable challenges, and we have what it takes to create an unwavering fortitude.
So I ask you to avoid complacency and confront the issues, the inequalities, the systemic evils and to care. Care to do more than only vote once every four years and argue on Twitter. We must grasp the opportunity with our own hands, and act on our beliefs directly to bring about true change.
Do not strive to change the world despite, but rather in light, of its problems. Do something, in whatever way you can, to be a positive influence for the future.
We are needed -- to be the next generation of doctors, nurses, scientists, politicians, lawyers, architects, paraprofessionals, business people, teachers, professors, laborers, electricians, plumbers, counselors, clerks and every profession there is. As we get there, let us care about and confront our problems to make sure this is a world worth living in.
As valedictorian of Seguin High School, I thank you for listening with an open mind and wish you Godspeed in changing the world.