Volume 14, Issue 3,
Summer 2003
“The
Changing Generations”
By Mortimer M. Caplin
[Editor's Note: Mortimer M. Caplin is a distinguished member of the Senior Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar. He is a member of the law firm of Caplin & Drysdale and is Professor Emeritus of the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a recipient of The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law, the University of Virginia's highest honor. A tribute to Mortimer Caplin appears in the Congressional Record of Monday, July 16, 2001.]
Congratulations
to the graduating class; and special wishes to your friends and, particularly,
to your parents — who shared with you all the trials and traumas in your
earning a degree.
To
one with lifetime ties to these splendid and venerable grounds, it is a high
privilege to address the University of Virginia Class of 2003.
Or, shall I say, “The Great Class of 2003.” I must confess, in trying to recall who
spoke and what was said at my own college graduation, "The Great Class
of 1937," my mind remains a blank. In fact, most commencement speakers play a rather modest, not
to say easily forgotten, role in an otherwise exciting day — competing
with moms and dads, family and friends, all eagerly awaiting the official
awarding of degrees and full celebration.
But
I am delighted to be part of your ceremony. I hope there will be at least
a few thoughts expressed this morning that will stay with you beyond the end
of this day. And as I share these thoughts, I am ever conscious of Mr. Jefferson
standing behind me and listening.
The
one commencement I do remember was here at my law graduation in 1940. The
speaker was the President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt ("FDR").
He came to the University to attend the law graduation of his son,
Franklin, Jr., one of our classmates.
The
Nazi armies of Adolph Hitler were then overrunning Europe and threatening
the freedom of the entire world. On that very morning, Mussolini's Fascist
forces — joining Hitler — had invaded their neighbor, France. Soon, every member of our class would
be required to register under the vigorously debated Selective Service Act,
the first peacetime military draft in our nation's history.
In
Memorial Gymnasium, after a sudden torrential rainstorm had driven us from
McIntyre Amphitheater, the President delivered an historic speech — the
most sensitive part inserted
by him during his train ride from Washington, contrary to the State Department's
specific pleas that America's neutrality would be compromised.
FDR
dramatically declared: "On this tenth day of June 1940, the hand that
held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor.
"On
this tenth day of June 1940, in this university founded by the first great
American teacher of democracy, we send forth our prayers and our hopes to
those beyond the seas who are maintaining with magnificent valor their battle
for freedom."
Remember,
in 1940 there was no television; no internet; no cellphones. Until then, we
heard President Roosevelt only on the radio. To have the President of the
United States before us in person, delivering to the world his famous "dagger-in-the-back"
speech, is a moment I will never forget.
That
day, he also gave us a glimpse into what lay before us when he solemnly committed,
for the first time and without congressional approval, to "extend . .
. the material resources of this nation" to the embattled democracies.
First
Lady Eleanor Roosevelt later said: "Franklin's address was not just a
commencement address, it was a speech to the nation . . . that brought us
one step nearer to total war."
For
us, World War II had begun. And it was not long before many of us were on
our way. It was not at all what we graduates had been planning.
As a law student, I spent many hours thinking about my post-graduation career and dreams. I had already accepted a legal clerkship with Judge Armistead Mason Dobie, our former law school dean and, at that time, a United States Circuit Court of Appeals Judge. Next, I would go to New York to begin the practice of law — to learn, in the celebrated words of Judge Dobie, how to "make a noise like a lawyer."
With
two UVA degrees in hand, I felt prepared to face, and perhaps conquer, the
world. But on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and all
our lives changed.
I
had hardly begun my Wall Street law practice, when I found myself in uniform,
commissioned an Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve.
Reporting first to Naval Intelligence, I was later transferred to train
as a navy beachmaster. When my
training was completed, I said goodbye to Ruth, my wife of just one year,
and set sail for duty as a beachmaster on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, the
D-Day landing on the Normandy coast of France.
World
War II and the navy did teach me a number of important life skills —
many still of help in my private career. Two, in particular, are worth remembering:
First,
avoid fixed and rigid plans. Instead, allow for flexibility, innovation and
possible change — but always hold true to your personal values. Second,
be willing to accept risk when necessary as you move forward towards your
goals.
Philosopher
William James acutely observed: "It is only by risking our persons from
one hour to another that we live at all. And often enough our faith beforehand
in an uncertified result is the only thing that makes the result come true."
Simply
put, have faith in your choices, and be at the ready to risk challenge as
well as change. You will grow in strength as you do.
I
often recall a Virginia automobile inspection sticker on my front windshield,
shouting at me daily while driving the children to school: "Expect the
Unexpected" — very wise counsel, indeed.
We've
heard a great deal of late about those involved in what has been dubbed, "The
Greatest Generation" — glorifying our ordinary citizens who, through
hard work, courage and sacrifice, successfully confronted the Great Depression
and World II.
Let
me confess, though, as a duly designated member of that body, I find the anointment
somewhat overdone. Countless
generations, both before and after, including today, have also faced challenging
times and national crises. And, in each case, everyday Americans have always
demonstrated equal patriotism, equal devotion, equal courage — all inherently
part of our national culture, traditions and training.
What
may we expect of your generation? A
former UVA Law School student of mine — who later became Attorney General
of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy, offered an answer in his 1966 Capetown
University speech: "Few
will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change
a small portion of events, and in the total of all these acts will be written
the history of this generation."
A
good sampling of issues which call for your thought and action are captured
in three recent news headlines:
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette: "This War has Spawned a Generation's Political
Awakening"
The
oceans that seemed so large and protective of America when we sailed across
the Atlantic in 1944 to engage the Nazis, suddenly do not seem so expansive
after 9/11 — a day that revealed our vulnerability and vastly changed
our sense of national security.
Your
generation now faces the difficult task of monitoring the delicate balance
between using all means possible to protect the security of the nation, on
the one hand, while carefully safeguarding our individual privacy and constitutional
liberties, on the other. And you will be required to decide how our extraordinary
military and economic powers should best be used — or not used —
to support or cooperate with other countries in their struggles, many in common
with our own.
From ABC News: "Fighting World Hunger Seems to be a Losing Proposition"
Tens
of millions of chronically hungry people in the world today cannot be ignored.
Nor can we ignore, here at home, our own health care problems. Nor
the ongoing challenges of our nation's four big "E's" — education,
environment, energy, the economy.
From
The Washington Post: "Life Expectancy in U.S. Reaches a Record
High"
Some
predict that you, in this audience, will live well beyond the 100 years mark.
The consequences are manifold; but let me point to one aspect alone:
Obviously,
you won't be able to focus on all these challenges. But each of you can identify
important ideas and events which you feel are worthy and, using your convictions,
education and talents, find ways to participate and serve.
Mr.
Jefferson consistently laid stress on, not just the rights of citizens of
this country, but also on the responsibilities.
Writing in 1796, shortly before he assumed the unhappy post of vice
president, he stated strongly: "There is a debt of service due from every
man to his country, proportioned to the bounties which nature and fortune
have measured to him." And if he were with us today, he would, no doubt,
amend his statement to read, "There is a debt of service due from every
man and woman to their country."
Jefferson
urged each of us to "aspire to be a public citizen," with a sense
of shared responsibility for the democratic society in which we live.
President
John F. Kennedy, under whom I served as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue
Service, leaned heavily on Jefferson's thoughts and writings. He, too, spoke
repeatedly of not just the rights, but also the responsibilities of citizenship.
He cited three particular obligations of the educated citizen: (1) the pursuit
of learning, (2) the duty to uphold the law and (3) the obligation to serve
the public. Be a participant,
he said, not just a spectator — "enter the lists."
It
was Mr. Jefferson's desire, from its very beginning, that this institution
would produce thoughtful, articulate and public-spirited young leaders. And, in response, the university has,
throughout its history, placed special emphasis on public service in its many
forms.
For
me, my years in public service have been the most satisfying and the most
fulfilling of my entire life-experiences I never forget.
If
your aspiration is to make a difference in your society, be willing to get
out of your comfortable, private shell, broaden your horizons and become involved
in your community and the world about you. In brief, "enter the lists."
In
this age, most information is at your fingertips and communicating it is convenient
and instantaneous — satellite imagery, computers of stunning sophistication,
internet, e-mail, cellphone mania and now "WiFi," the fastest network
in town. Participation in the democratic process is now more available and
more open to you than ever before.
Just
think of what Paul Revere could have done if he'd had e-mail or a cellphone
with "text imaging."
Just
think of what your generation can do with all these powerful tools right in
your hands — in voting, organizing, influencing politicians and other
prominent figures, making sure your voices are truly heard, and most certainly
"making a difference."
All
of us here today are very proud of each of you graduates; and we warmly congratulate
you on your sustained efforts in earning your degrees. I know it wasn't easy!
You
have walked in great footprints here at the University of Virginia, and you
have participated in an ancient and honorable way of learning. You are now
at a unique moment in your life, equipped to move in almost any direction,
to test deeply felt ideas and aspirations, to reach for the best — always
acting with honor and integrity.
My
own reward will be to greet some of you later on in your different leadership
roles — whether in government, business, the professions, nonprofits,
teaching or the arts. I feel secure in knowing that our nation's
affairs will be in excellent hands with you, graduates of this great university,
in charge.
To
all of you: May fortune be with you on your quest.
Mortimer M.Caplin
Washington,
D.C.