“THE GREAT AMERICAN RAFT DEBATE”
PRESENTED BY IRA A. LIPMAN
CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT
GUARDSMARK, INC. –
TO MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
HYDE CHAPEL
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

FEBRUARY 22, 1991

I AM PROUD TO BE HERE TODAY AS AN INVESTOR IN M.U.S.-NOT A SHAREHOLDER, BUT A PARENT WHO NOW HAS HAD 3 SONS BECOME PART OF THE M.U.S. TRADITION. IN FACT, SOME OF YOU TEACHERS MAY REMEMBER THAT I LAST SPOKE HERE 7 YEARS AGO WHEN YOU WERE STILL STUDENTS. WHAT REMARKABLE CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE AT M.U.S. SINCE THEN!
YOU ARE AWARE THAT I WROTE HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CRIME, BUT CRIME IS NOT MY SUBJECT TODAY. TODAY I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HEROES. BUT BEFORE I GET INTO MY REMARKS, I WANT TO URGE YOU TO READ THE BOOK AND USE IT TO HELP PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILIES FROM THE CRIMES THAT THREATEN ALL OF US. PLAN WELL FOR WHEN YOU GO OFF TO COLLEGE-BE PREPARED-AND YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR.
BEFORE I BEGIN MY REMARKS TODAY, I’D LIKE TO TELL YOU A LITTLE STORY TO ILLUSTRATE THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO WAYS TO LOOK AT THINGS.
IT SEEMS THAT BACK IN THE DAYS OF THE FRONTIER, THERE WERE THESE TWO COWBOYS, TOM AND JOE, WHO WERE FLAT BROKE. THEY WENT INTO THE LOCAL GENERAL STORE AND ASKED FOR WORK. THE OWNER SAID HE DIDN’T HAVE ANY WORK, BUT HE OFFERED TO PAY THEM $10 FOR THE BEARSKIN TOM WAS WEARING. WELL, THEY TOOK IT AND BOUGHT BIG STEAK DINNERS, AND NEW SPURS, AND FANCY SADDLE BAGS. WHEN THEY GOT UP TILE NEXT MORNING, THEY WERE BROKE AGAIN, SO THEY WENT OUT AND GOT ANOTHER BEARSKIN AND SOLD IT FOR ANOTHER $10. THEY CONTINUED DOING THIS UNTIL THEY HAD TO GO FARTHER AND FARTHER OUT INTO THE TERRITORY. FINALLY THEY WERE WAY OUT IN TILE WILDERNESS.
ONE MORNING TOM WOKE UP AND LOOKED UP AT THE RIDGE AND SAW THEY WERE SURROUNDED BY 10,000 BEARS. THEY WERE ALL ALONG THE RIDGE, IN THE TREES, AND ON THE TRAILS. AND THEY WERE ALL STARING AT TOM AND JOE.
TOM RUSHED OVER TO JOE AND SHOOK HIM AWAKE, YELLING “JOE, JOE, WAKE UP! WE’RE SURROUNDED BY BEARS!” JOE STOOD UP, TOOK ONE LOOK AROUND, AND SAID. “MY GOD, WE’RE GONNA BE MILLIONAIRES!”
I’M SURE YOU’VE ALREADY MET PEOPLE LIKE TOM AND JOE. AND YOU MAY HAVE WONDERED AT TIMES HOW PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT THE SAME EVIDENCE, THE EXACT SAME INFORMATION, AND ARRIVE AT TOTALLY DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS. TO A LARGE EXTENT, IT’S A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION, A DIFFERENCE IN PERSPECTIVE, A WAY OF SEEING THAT PUTS THE INFORMATION IN A CHANGED LIGHT. AND JOE IS NOT SO FANCIFUL AS YOU MIGHT THINK. IN THE KOREAN WAR, THE GREAT GENERAL CHESTY PULLER WAS INFORMED THAT HIS MARINES WERE SURROUNDED BY THE CHINESE. AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HE SAID? “GOOD! NOW WE CAN ATTACK IN ALL DIRECTIONS.”
THE ABILITY TO SEE OPPORTUNITY WHERE OTHERS CAN’T IS WHAT HEROES ARE MADE OF. AND THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY- HEROISM.
NOW WHEN WE THINK OF HEROES WE THINK OF THEM IN CERTAIN CATEGORIES. FOR EXAMPLE, WE THINK OF WAR HEROES, SPORTS HEROES, AND BUSINESS HEROES. BUT WHAT DISTINGUISHES THEM WHAT SETS THEM APART FROM THEIR PEERS-IS THAT AT A CERTAIN TIME IN A PARTICULAR SITUATION THEY DID SOMETHING SO SPECTACULAR, SOMETHING THAT WAS SO OUT OF THE ORDINARY, SOMETHING SO WONDERFUL AND UNUSUAL THAT WE REMEMBER IT AND TELL THE STORY AGAIN AND AGAIN TO INSPIRE OURSELVES AND OTHERS. WE THINK OF THE SPARTANS AT THERMOPYLAE OR GEORGE WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE, BABE RUTH POINTING TO CENTER-FIELD, AND HENRY FORD WITH HIS MODEL T.
CENTRAL TO ALL HEROIC EFFORT IS THE WILLINGNESS TO TEST YOURSELF. SOME HEROES ENDURE GREAT HARDSHIPS. SOME ASSUME TERRIBLE RISKS FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS. BUT ALL PUSH THEMSELVES TO THEIR LIMITS TO SEE WHAT THEY ARE MADE OF, TO TEST THEIR METTLE, TO DISCOVER SOMETHING ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT THEY DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE. AND ALL HEROES SEE THAT TEST-THAT SUPREME CHALLENGE-AS AN OPPORTUNITY.
THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER KIND OF HEROISM, WHAT I CALL THE HEROISM OF DAILY LIFE. MOST PEOPLE NEVER FIND THEMSELVES IN THE POSITION WHERE TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCES COME TOGETHER TO CHALLENGE THEM IN A SPECTACULAR WAY. THEIR CHALLENGE IS TO DO EACH DAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND TO DO IT TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY.
WE ARE CHALLENGED IN THIS WAY EVERY DAY. AMID DISTRACTIONS, WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR FOCUS ON THE TASK IN HAND. WE HAVE TO FIGHT TIREDNESS BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IF WE GIVE IN, THE JOB WILL NOT BE DONE AS WELL AS WE COULD DO IT. WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME SACRIFICES- GIVE UP SOME FUN-DO WHAT WE KNOW WE SHOULD DO. WE HAVE TO STRUGGLE CONSTANTLY TO MEET ALL THE DEMANDS THAT ARE PUT UPON US.
THAT, TOO, IS HEROISM. BUT ONLY IF WE APPROACH IT IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND….IF WE SEE IN EVERYTHING WE DO THE CHANCE TO EXCEL, TO SURPASS OUR PREVIOUS BEST, TO BE THE BEST THAT WE CAN POSSIBLY BE.
IN ALL WE DO, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. BUT SOMETIMES WE MUST STRUGGLE TO SEE THE OPPORTUNITY AND TO SEIZE IT BEFORE IT IS GONE.
I REMEMBER WHEN I STARTED GUARDSMARK IN 1963, I SAW A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE BEST SECURITY SERVICE IN THE NATION. BUT IT WAS A STRUGGLE TO EVEN GET THE COMPANY OFF THE GROUND. I STARTED IN THE BASEMENT OF A BUILDING THAT IS NOW OUR NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, WITHOUT EVEN A DESK TO WRITE ON.
FINANCIAL SUCCESS IS ONE GOAL IN LIFE. BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE THE ONLY GOAL. THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN BLESSED-AND ALL OF US HERE TODAY HAVE BEEN BLESSED-HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY SOMETHING OF WHAT WE HAVE RECEIVED. WE MUST USE OUR TIME, TALENTS, AND RESOURCES TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY TO OTHERS AMONG US WHO HAVE NOT BEEN SO BLESSED AS WE HAVE. X IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IN VOLUNTEER WORK THAT YOU CAN HELP PEOPLE ONE-ON-ONE OR YOU CAN MULTIPLY YOUR EFFORTS AND HELP THOUSANDS OR EVEN TENS OF THOUSANDS BY BUILDING VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS. IF YOU CAN BRING IN TEN VOLUNTEERS AND THEY EACH BRING IN TEN VOLUNTEERS, THEN IN A VERY REAL WAY YOU ARE TOUCHING THE LIVES OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HELPED BY ALL THOSE VOLUNTEERS.
AND I’M VERY PROUD THAT M.U.S. WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SCHOOLS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE UNITED WAY PROGRAM “DIME’S WORTH OF DIFFERENCE,” INITIATED IN 1985 IN OUR CITY AND NOW GROWN INTO A NATIONAL PROGRAM THAT I CHAIR FROM THE NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED WAY. WE’VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE “THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT” PROGRAM INSPIRED BY PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH, AND OUR YOUTH PROGRAM IS NOW PART OF THE POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED BY LAW LAST YEAR. THROUGH THIS PROGRAM WE EXPECT TO REACH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUTH THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. YOUNG PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE PROBLEMS THEY SEE IN THEIR LOCAL AREAS, DEVELOP THEIR OWN AGENDAS, SET THEIR OWN PRIORITIES, AND ALLOCATE THE FUNDS THEY RAISE TO HELP THE PEOPLE WHO THEY THINK HAVE THE GREATEST NEED.
WE MUST REMEMBER THAT HELPING OTHERS IS BOTH A RESPONSIBILITY AND AN OPPORTUNITY-TO SHOW THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS BLESSINGS, TO REASSERT OUR ESSENTIAL HUMANITY, TO DO SOMETHING TO ENSURE THAT THE WORLD IS A LITTLE BETTER PLACE FOR OUR HAVING LIVED IN IT.
HOWEVER WELL OFF WE ARE, WE CANNOT IGNORE THE PROBLEMS THAT FACE US. WE CANNOT DEFEND OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND PRIVILEGED SOCIETY WITH A GREAT WALL OF IGNORANCE, PRETENDING THAT WHAT HAPPENS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL IS NOT OUR BUSINESS. THE MENACE OF DRUGS THREATENS NOT ONLY THE UNDERCLASS OF HARLEM, BUT ALSO THE UPPER CLASS OF GERMANTOWN. RACISM, ANTI-SEMITISM, AND ETHNIC HATRED ARE INCREASING, POLLUTING THE SOCIAL LIFE OF OUR NATION. NEARLY HALF OF THE BLACK CHILDREN IN AMERICA ARE GROWING UP IN POVERTY, AND THEIR INFANT MORTALITY RATE IS A NATIONAL SHAME AND DISGRACE. OUR CITIES ARE FILLED WITH THE HOMELESS, ANYWHERE FROM THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND TO THREE MILLION OF THEM, NO ONE EVEN KNOWS FOR SURE HOW MANY. AND CRIME IN ALL ITS VICIOUS FORMS RESPECTS NO BOUNDARIES, THREATENING OUR CITIES AND OUR SUBURBS, OUR RICH AND OUR POOR, OUR OLD AND OUR YOUNG.
THE SOCIAL LIFE OF OUR NATION SEEMS MORE AND MORE TO RESEMBLE A RAFT DEBATE. IF YOU’VE EVER HEARD ONE, YOU KNOW HOW IT WORKS.
ASSUME A BOAT HAS SUNK IN MID-OCEAN AND FIVE PEOPLE HAVE SURVIVED. BUT THEIR RAFT IS ONLY BIG ENOUGH FOR FOUR. THE SURVIVORS WHO MIGHT INCLUDE A MINISTER, AN ARTIST, A LAWYER, AN ENGINEER, AND AN ECONOMIST-ENGAGE IN A DEBATE, MAKING THE BEST CASE THEY CAN FOR WINNING A PLACE ON THE RAFT.
THE MINISTER MIGHT ARGUE THAT A COMMUNITY WITHOUT RELIGION IS NOT WORTH SAVING IN ANY CASE. THE ARTIST MIGHT SAY THAT ART IS WHAT SEPARATES MAN FROM THE ANIMALS, AND THAT A COMMUNITY WITHOUT ART IS NOTHING MORE THAN A ZOO WITHOUT WALLS. THE LAWYER MIGHT DEFEND THE NEED FOR LAW BECAUSE WITHOUT IT THERE CAN BE NO JUSTICE, NO RIGHTS, AND NO SECURITY. TILE ENGINEER WOULD BE LIKELY TO MAKE A MORE PRACTICAL ARGUMENT, THAT A COMMUNITY MUST HAVE SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO BUILD MACHINES AND MAKE THINGS WORK. FINALLY, THE ECONOMIST MIGHT ARGUE THAT NO ADVANCED SOCIETY CAN EXIST WITHOUT AN ECONOMIST TO DESIGN AN EFFICIENT MEANS OF CREATING AND DISTRIBUTING WEALTH, AND MANAGING A COMPLEX FINANCIAL SYSTEM.
WHICH ONE OF THESE EDUCATED, INTELLIGENT, VALUED MEMBERS OF SOCIETY SHALL BE DECLARED EXPENDABLE AND LEFT TO DIE?
A RAFT DEBATE IS AN INTERESTING LEARNING EXPERIENCE. IT FORCES YOU TO DEFINE WHAT YOU MEAN BY COMMUNITY, TO DECIDE WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD SOCIETY, TO EXAMINE WHAT YOU MEAN BY INDIVIDUAL WORTH AND SOCIAL VALUE. IT IS A VALUABLE INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE, AT LEAST IN PART BECAUSE WE DON’T REALLY LEAVE THE LOSER TO SINK OR SWIM.
BUT IF WE WERE TO ADD TO OUR GROUP OF ARTICULATE DEBATERS ANOTHER WHO HAS NO VOICE-AN INNER-CITY BLACK, AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, AN HISPANIC, OR ONE OF THE HOMELESS-THEN IT WOULD BECOME PAINFULLY CLEAR THAT THIS RAFT DEBATE WAS MORE THAN AN EXERCISE, THAT IT CLOSELY REFLECTED THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL SITUATION IN AMERICA TODAY.
IF WE THINK FOR A MOMENT OF OUR SOCIETY AS A RAFT, WHO HAS BEEN DECLARED EXPENDABLE, IN DEEDS IF NOT IN WORDS?
THE HOMELESS ARE EXPENDABLE. THEY MUST BE, OR WE WOULDN’T ALLOW OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS TO SLEEP IN CARS, ON HEATED GRATES, OR IN ABANDONED BUILDINGS. VARIOUS REASONS ARE GIVEN TO EXPLAIN WHY WE CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO HELP THEM, AND THESE REASONS ALWAYS COME IN HANDY AS WE STEP AROUND THE HOMELESS WHO LITTER OUR CITY SIDEWALKS LIKE DEBRIS FROM THE SHIPWRECK OF CIVILIZATION.
WHO ELSE HAS BEEN EXCLUDED FROM OUR IMAGINARY RAFT? THE POOR OF THE INNER CITIES, MOSTLY BLACK, WHO ARE BARELY EDUCATED, PERMANENTLY UNEMPLOYED, AND CONDEMNED TO LIVE ON WELFARE FOR GENERATION AFTER GENERATION. THEY LIVE WITH RATS IN THEIR APARTMENTS AND DRUG DEALERS IN THEIR STREETS. AND A BLACK BABY IS MORE THAN TWICE AS LIKELY AS A WHITE BABY TO DIE BEFORE REACHING THE AGE OF ONE.
WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE FROM THESE HARSH FACTS IF NOT A HARSH CONCLUSION? THERE IS NO ROOM ON THE GREAT AMERICAN RAFT FOR THE INNER-CITY POOR. AS LONG AS THEY STAY IN THEIR GHETTOS UNSEEN AND UNHEARD, AND THEY DON’T ROCK OUR RAFT, OUR SOCIETY IS CONTENT TO LET THEM DROWN IN DESPAIR.
THERE IS NO SPACE ON THE RAFT FOR THE 20 TO 30 MILLION ILLITERATE ADULTS IN OUR MIDST. NO ROOM FOR POOR HISPANICS. NO ROOM FOR THOSE WHO LACK THE EDUCATION NEEDED TO MAKE IT IN OUR INCREASINGLY COMPLEX, TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
WHAT CAN WE DO, TO WHOM SO MUCH HAS BEEN GIVEN AND OF WHOM SO MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED?
WE MUST RECOGNIZE THAT THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT UNDERLIE OUR NATIONAL RAFT DEBATE ARE FALSE.
OUR SOCIETY IS NOT A RAFT. TO SHARE IS NOT TO SHRINK.
NO ONE IS EXPENDABLE.
INSTEAD OF A RAFT, WE MUST THINK OF AMERICA AS A BANQUET TABLE, TO WHICH ALL OF US HAVE BEEN INVITED. WE WERE-NOT INVITED BECAUSE OF OUR INTELLIGENCE, OR OUR EDUCATION, OR OUR BUSINESS SUCCESS, OR OUR TABLE MANNERS. WE WERE INVITED BECAUSE WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD. WHO ARE WE TO TELL THE HOST THAT IT’S TIME TO BOLT THE DOORS, THAT THERE’S NOT ENOUGH FOOD TO GO AROUND, THAT THOSE PEOPLE OUTSIDE HAVE LOST THEIR INVITATIONS, OR DIDN’T DESERVE THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE, OR WILL EMBARRASS US WITH THEIR LACK OF ETIQUETTE?
THE MISERY THAT EXISTS IN THE MIDST OF OUR ABUNDANCE SIMPLY CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED. THE DAY SHOULD BE LONG PAST IN AMERICA-THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD-WHEN ANY PERSON IS SCORNED OR EXCLUDED OR LEFT BY THE WAYSIDE BECAUSE OF HIS OR HER RELIGION, RACE, OR ACCENT.
WHAT CAN YOU-AS A PART OF M.U.S.-DO ABOUT THESE ENORMOUS PROBLEMS?
FIRST, MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT FALL VICTIM TO THE LIES, HALF-TRUTHS, AND IGNORANCE THAT IS SPREAD ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE IN SOME WAY DIFFERENT FROM US.
SECOND, LEARN ALL YOU CAN ABOUT HOW THE STRENGTH OF OUR NATION IS IN ITS DIVERSITY AND ITS MORAL POWER IN ITS JUSTICE. TRACE THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE MANY DIII tERENT ETHNIC GROUPS, RELIGIOUS GROUPS, AND RACIAL GROUPS THAT BUILT THIS COUNTRY INTO WHAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN CALLED THE “LAST, BEST HOPE OF EARTH.”
FIND OUT ALL YOU CAN ABOUT OUR CULTURE AND THE MEANING OF DEMOCRACY AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN DIFFERENT TIMES AND PLACES WHEN NATIONS ALLOWED MISUNDERSTANDING AND IGNORANCE TO OVERWHELM THEIR SENSE OF FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, AND TOLERANCE.
THIRD, GET MORE INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY SERVICE NOW, TODAY. THERE ARE A HUNDRED IMPORTANT WAYS YOU CAN HELP, THROUGH M.U.S., THROUGH YOUR CHURCH OR SYNAGOGUE, THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE AGENCIES, OR THROUGH THE UNITED WAY. AND ENCOURAGE OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY-INCLUDING YOUR PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, BROTHERS, SISTERS, AUNTS, UNCLES, AND COUSINS TO DO THEIR PART. THE NATIONAL POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION WISELY CALLS UPON EVERY AMERICAN AND EVERY AMERICAN INSTITUTION TO ENGAGE IN COMMUNITY SERVICE, BECAUSE A SUCCESSFUL LIFE MUST INCLUDE SERVING OTHERS. BECOME A POINT OF LIGHT SHINING IN THE DARKNESS, A RAY OF HOPE TO THOSE WHO HAVE NONE.
FOURTH, PREPARE FOR THE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES YOU WILL BE GIVEN IN THE FUTURE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE INJUSTICES AND THE SOCIAL PROBLEMS THAT WILL CONFRONT YOU. IN THE YEARS TO COME, YOU-ALL OF YOU IN THIS ROOM WILL POSSESS POSITIONS OF ENORMOUS INFLUENCE IN BUSINESS, EDUCATION, THE LEGAL PROFESSION, MEDICINE, THE MINISTRY, AND THE WORLD OF POLITICS. THE CHARACTER YOU FORM NOW, THE KNOWLEDGE YOU GAIN, THE UNDERSTANDING YOU DEVELOP, WILL GO A LONG WAY TO DETERMINE THE KIND AND AMOUNT OF INFLUENCE YOU HAVE LATER.
AND LAST, BE HEROIC IN YOUR DAILY LIFE. TEST YOUR LIMITS. WE ALL HAVE LIMITATIONS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE UNEXPLORED AREAS OF DISCOVERY, THINGS WE CAN DO BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE, ABILITIES AND TALENTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED, THOUGHTS AND CONCERNS THAT ARE OURS ALONE, THAT WE UNDERSTAND IN WAYS NO ONE ELSE CAN. WE ARE EACH OF US UNIQUE AND SPECIAL CHILDREN OF GOD.
YOU MAY NOT DISCOVER YOUR PARTICULAR TALENT UNTIL AFTER YOU LEAVE M.U.S. YOU MAY NOT DISCOVER IT UNTIL AF1 ER YOU GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE. YOU MAY NOT EVEN DISCOVER IT UNTIL YOU’RE WELL INTO YOUR WORKING LIFE….HUMAN GROWTH IS UNPREDICTABLE. BUT WHEN THE MOMENT ARRIVES, YOU MUST BE READY TO RECOGNIZE IT. YOU MUST SEIZE IT WHEN IT ONCE COMES, FOR IT MAY NEVER COME AGAIN.
LIKE GEORGE WASHINGTON, BORN THIS DAY IN 1732, YOU NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL YOUR OPPORTUNITIES, MAKE A FIRM COMMITMENT OF YOUR STRENGTH AND RESOURCES, HAVE THE MORAL COURAGE TO SURVIVE YOUR PERSONAL VALLEY FORGE, RALLY YOUR FORCES, DO WHAT IS NECESSARY WHEN IT IS NECESSARY AND TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY.
IF YOU DO THAT, THERE IS EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT WHEN YOUR WORK IS DONE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO RETIRE TO YOUR OWN MOUNT ‘VERNON, RESTING SECURE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ON THE FINAL LEDGER, YOU PRODUCED MORE THAN YOU CONSUMED, GAVE BACK MORE THAN YOU TOOK, AND THAT IN THE END THE WORLD WAS A LITTLE BIT BETTER OFF BECAUSE YOU LIVED IN IT.
THANK YOU.
M.U.S. SPEECH NOTES
Page 3 “Spartans at Thermopylae” (Ther-mop-a-lee)
Thermopylae was a narrow mountain pass in eastern Greece. During the Persian War led by Xerxes in 480 B.C., the pass was defended primarily by Spartans under the leadership of Leonidas. The vastly outnumbered Spartans held back the Persians for two days and inflicted heavy losses on them. Eventually the Persians discovered a mountain path and were able to attack the Spartans from front and rear. The Spartans held their ground instead of fleeing and were overwhelmed. Thermopylae has become known as a symbol of heroic defense in the face of insurmountable odds. (Oxford Companion to Classical Literature)