Daniel Webster grads told to enjoy life
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
Nashua – Best-selling author and political satirist P. J. O'Rourke urged the nearly 120 graduates at Daniel Webster College's commencement ceremony to not be professional "Chicken Littles."
Citing the children's fable about a chicken who believes the sky is falling, O'Rourke said, "I am suspicious of anyone who does a lot of public fretting."
Worrying works best for politicians, he said, and joked about Chicken Little's appointment to the Cabinet and his eventual New Hampshire Presidential primary campaign speech.
"Worrying is less work than doing something to fix it," he said.
O'Rourke also told the graduates they were fortunate to be living right now in America.
"Life is better than it used to be and 2007 is a great time to live," O'Rourke said. "Right now, at the beginning of the third millennium, is the best moment of time so far and right here in the United States is the best place." People can hardly count their blessings nowadays, O'Rourke said. Average men and women have more liberties and natural benefits than generations before, opportunity is constantly knocking and bad music has gotten shorter.
He added that the threat from the Soviet Union no longer exists after it fell and that the biggest threat from China is its conquest of the iPod market.
"Things are better for mankind now than when mankind began keeping track of things," O'Rourke said.
"Yes, we're fighting a difficult war on terrorism, but at least we're fighting it."
O'Rourke ended his address with one final piece of advice for the graduates, "Don't listen to too much advice, especially free advice. If they know anything worth knowing, they'd be charging for it."
Salutatorian Matthew DesRoche of Amherst jokingly warned his fellow graduates of their college's aggressive alumni donation campaign during his address.
DesRoche added that commencement was "the last event we share before racing off in a thousand different directions."
Valedictorian Christopher Hilbert, of Allenstown, Pa., told his fellow graduates that they are the only ones who can measure their own success.
"Today, only each of you understand the hurdles it took to get here," Hilbert said. "Take this time to bask in your achievement."
