David Foster Wallace’s American Dream
We don’t need a grand revolution to achieve something meaningful — living a compassionate life is as American as it gets.In 2005, writer David Foster Wallace captured the ethos of a fragile America while talking to college students. The speech warrants rereading today, given the current state of free speech and thought on college campuses nationwide. Wallace delivered This is Water as a commencement speech to Kenyon College seniors seeking to inspire the next generation of thinkers, builders, and servers. It tackled cynicism and forgiveness through simple examples, like swimming fish. Yet, its enduring spirit lies in how perfectly Wallace addresses the American identity crisis. In his words, “the really significant education… isn’t really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about.” Wallace’s advice is a rebuke against selfishness. The ability to think is useless if you refuse to learn Read More ›
