Dear Sen. Ted Cruz,
Thank you, on behalf of the Class of 2013, for accepting our invitation to speak at commencement.
We’re excited to hear you speak, but we want to warn you of something. Among arguably the most conservative group of college students in the United States, Republican politicians have earned a bad name for themselves. A bit of that is irrational, but some of it is justified. We’ve had well-intentioned politicians speak at our commencement who have failed to transcend a mere stump speech. Rest assured that with the exception of a few grumpy libertarians, you have our vote.
Be genuine instead. When Steve Jobs spoke to the Stanford University Class of 2005, he didn’t tell them why he was the best CEO in the United States, though he might have been at the time. Jobs told them stories of past challenges, of love and loss, of connecting the dots in our confusing world. He showed them, as author Wendell Berry wrote once, “the shape of his life.” Show us the shape of your life and instruct us about how to discover the shape of our own.
A list of your accomplishments could cover the length of our campus. As someone who graduated from Harvard Law, clerked for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and became the youngest solicitor general in United States history, only to defeat a party-favorite candidate in a Texas Republican primary, you certainly understand our common desire to strive for excellence.
Some of us will strive for excellence in life in different ways, whether it be educating children or becoming doctors. Come to us as humans and not constituents; tell us what your adventure in excellence has taught you and how we can apply that knowledge. Liberal arts graduates like us are desperate for applicable advice that we can remember as we go forward from our alma mater.
We want to give you a break from tax reform, drones, and politicking. We want you to celebrate this terrifying but exciting milestone of human life with us.
