all that shipment entering the united states navy, raise your right hand. having been appointed an ensign frome united states navy, 23 may of 2014, to you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic? at you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion? and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you are about to enter, so help you god? >> i do. >> very good. lower your right hand. [applause] ok, shipmates. i will see you out there in the

fleet. ensigns, take your seats. >> good morning. today wed gentlemen, will graduate 1068 men and women that have met the many challenges of four years at the naval academy. the class of 2014 also includes 12 graduates from nine nations around the world. we invite these international graduating midshipmen to stand when their name is called along with members of the national delegation who are in attendance today. graduates is national flags are flying above the memorial arches will return to their countries and serve with distinction in their armed forces or enter other government service.

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[reading names] congratulations. take your seats. today's graduates join the more than 80,000 men and women that have graduated from the naval academy since its founding in 1845. as part of our graduation ceremony today, members of the class that preceded this year's graduates by 50 years will honor this continuing chain of naval academy graduates by presenting uniform devices to the class of 2014. class arembers of the

listed in your program. recognizing and applauding these graduates. [applause] finally, before we begin introductions of individual graduates, i should remind you of an important naval academy tradition. the parents and friends of each graduate are invited to stand when i graduates name is called and in that way, we can recognize your contribution to the achievement of these fine young men and women. the secretary of defense will present diplomas to those individuals regulate with distinction. those members of the class of 2014 graduating with distinction, please rise.

second lieutenant david f williams stands first in the class. [reading names]

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[reading names] >> next, a discussion of the operations of the department of veterans affairs and the future of v.a. secretary eric shinseki.

in washington journal, this is 40 minutes. retired ring core gunnery sergeant jesse james says should eric shinseki resigned? >> absolutely. this is an appalling thing and these scandals have permeated throughout the nation for years. backlogs have caused veterans to die by the v.a. zone records. inse applying for benefits 2011, 50 three to 55 died today waiting on benefits alone. that is close to 20,000 veterans that died. and we never heard anything. no scandal or national outrage. they cannot get into the colonoscopies on time. 700 ill veterans out in ohio. this is over a year ago. a man went in for surgery, a marine that caught legionnaires disease and died.

veterans in augusta and atlanta that are all before phoenix. happened,hoenix has they want to wait for the investigations to see what the at results are. has been going on for years. agenty? >> he did allow orange illness to be recognized in 2009. ptsd and desert storm syndrome. a lot of vietnam veterans were suffering shell shock for years. and they also had agent orange related cancers. the v.a. finally decided to allow the claims to come in. claims but 97% of these claims are being handled manually and it wasn't even automated. so they get this huge backlog of claims. now, they get backlogs in appointment. and instead of handling it, they try to hide that they can't

service all these veterans so they can get their bonuses, the executives. they want to look like they're doing business as usual. host: this is what the "wall street journal" had to say about the v.a. management bill that he house passed this week. they passed legislation to streamline dismissal for mall feasant v.a. staff -- caller: i can't agree with that more the v.a. management and accountability act which passed h.r. 40-3 did pass. however, now, harry reid is blocking it to getting into the senate floor. what's bothering me is it's not a silver bullet but it's a start. right now, he couldn't even fire his own executives who had been

hiding and frauding all of these records. sharon hellmann runs the phoenix medical center and is in the headlines. she actually misrepresented members of veterans suicide rates in 2009 out of seattle. she said nine vets committed suicide when it was actually 22. she falsified the records. did they move her out? did they move her? no. they moved her up. and then she became a director. and now we see another culture of corruption permeating. so i think executive knows they could lose their jobs. they're going to be more accountable to do their jobs like the rest of us. host: 202 is the area code if you want to talk about the v.a. affairs controversy going on in this country right now. 585-3880 for depp cat's -- the umbers are on your screen. you can always get through via

social media as well, via witter, facebook and e-mail. sergeant jessie jane duff, or gunnery. what's the difference? >> one is a few ranks lower. marines are uptight about that. once you hit the rank of sergeant, they want to make sure you use their full rank. army tends to use saget more commonly throughout their ranks. but it's saget staff or sergeant gunnery. so gunny is like a nice -- but we're known to being very mean. >> when did you retire? caller: i retired out of the marine corps in 2004. host: how long did you serve? >> 20 years. host: and why? caller: it was probably the most extraordinary, difficult and extreme thing i could think of ever doing in my entire life. to this day, i can call myself a marine. it's the greatest honor you could ever do. you're going to have good days and bad days but they're the

most extraordinary days and you will have a great love of your country because once you've been overseas, you will grasp the freedom that this country provides for you every single day. it's a wonderful opportunity. host: where did you serve? caller: i moved nine times in 20 years. i did a lot in asia. and i served a lot at camp pendleton. i did get to be based out of hawaii. i decided that one tour but i retired in missouri where i was training marines. i was a logistics marine. i drove commercial rigs. a lot of people don't believe that but i didn't wear this dress when i was doing it. i wore camouflage. it was a tough life but it was a thrill and enjoyment. host: and what is the concerned concerned groups of america? caller: many of us is -- guest: many of us got off at the

duty and we start to get with that freedom is about. our founding fathers created a structure to have freedom that no other country in this world, no other democracy could ever taste. at the v.a. a medical centers it is a good example about how government bureaucracy -- these vets who , this is their only option for health care. those that have to go to the ba are those that have no other choice. if the nation can't protect those who volunteered or who were even drafted to serve this nation during hard times, who can it protect? dismantledd the vab and put the mainstream? test combat would be a dream come true for many conservatives. the realistic role of the ba, it was service related disabilities they earned through their service. just because you served as not

mean you rate medically. the nation has to recognize that that is their sole mission. why can't they functionally do it right? they are the second largest budget next to dod. problem, it isey a management problem. i would love to get medical care away from the v.a.. who is going to pay those bills? they get a test case in phoenix where they reimbursed outside carriers. many veterans got bad credit out of these extreme medical bills that were not being paid. add another to layer of responsibility to pay the debt? i am very concerned that portability would be a great solution but it has to be functional and reimbursed on time. >> we want to get your reaction to what mitch mcconnell had to say on the senate floor this week.

>> this weekend americans will gather to remember all who have fought and parish so we may live in freedom. our chance tos honor their extraordinary sacrifices. played a vitalng role in the defense of our nation. i am honored to represent so many kentuckians in the armed forces, including those stationed in fort knox, fort campbell, the bluegrass army, and members of the reserves and kentucky national guard. one of the reasons memorial day is so important to me is because it allows americans to reflect and give thanks for all that we have, to recognize that none of this would be possible without so many americans we never have met, putting everything on the line for us. that is why the men and women deserve our full support when they're deployed,

when they are training, and when they return home. most americans certainly agree with that statement. as we recently learned that is not happening. so many americans turn on the evening news just to be stick -- just to be second of the steady drip of the growing veterans scandal. the denial of care to our veterans is a national disgrace and this scandal only seems to increase in scope by the day. host: gunnery sergeant? guest: his statements were cut -- were touching. he should be able to ensure that those that have difficulties related to their service are receiving that care and now we are seeing scandal after scandal where there is death and mismanagement. the we have scandals where there are tried to get in for and they had to

post positive three times before they could get a colonoscopy. in 2010 to save cost. in out turkey new mexico we have people with gain green, brain heart disease. you have to get an appointment within 14 days. that is why these executives were hiding these lists of veterans in the backlog of employment. they did not want people to know they couldn't service it because they get bonuses. every executive received a satisfactory performance rating. everyone but one. that tells you something, that they were gaming the system so they could be rewarded. up to put their own careers in veterans lives. -- hose, when the show you the money here. the v.a. is getting $153 million . that is their current funding request for next year, 164

billion dollars. 36% is spent on medical programs. you can see this chart comes from the veterans affairs. is that enough money? telling me now that only 41% went medical care. this is a lopsided perspective. were wasted onrs to conferences in orlando. hr executiveave an testified to where the money they're creative throwing money down the drain on non-medical related issues. the should be going to service benefits such as funeral and education benefits. when your overhead is overwhelming your product, no organization works like that. no fortune 500 company works like that. your overhead should be sucking

and train in out -- not be sucking and training out your revenue. they had an increase of over 60% since 2009 creative it has doubled since 2001. they got everything they wanted from congress. this is not a money issue. it is a budget issue next to dod. host: a tweet -- guest: that is all they are supposed to be taking care of. there are 22.5 billion veterans in this country -- 22.5 million veterans in this country today. i use tri-care because i am a retiree and i follow under dod. of many veterans do not use the v.a.. bernie sanders try to block this bill to go forward. he had a bill he wanted every single veteran to be able to use the v.a. system. in theory that sounds beautiful

but many of those veterans are not -- do not have a disability related to their service. it would collapse the system. 22.5 million veterans in a system that can't even manage 6 million right now? it would be a debacle. it is another way of having the government manager -- do you really want to have these with lists? people can make fun of sarah palin. way i am starting to say this is that type of reaction him -- this type of reaction. what other work can you describe it with when people are getting bonuses for making their numbers look good to forgetting that when the v.a. has lost their desire to take care of lives and they are only concerned about numbers, they have lost their soul. >> senator sanders is our guest this week on our newsmakers program and he talked a bit about this scandal. here it is.

guests should the leader of the ,epartment, eric shinseki vietnam veteran, resign or be fired? >> no. is that the v.a. is a huge institution. it does a lot of very important work. i think everybody here has heard about the claims backlog. you people don't know is know how we did claims? we did claims by paper. havedividual veteran could filed this. our member talking to shinseki when he was first nominated and he said he was going to convert that system to an electronic system and at the end of five we will have those claims

down to 125 days. today they have cut the backlog to half the time. they're on their way to fulfilling that goal. false.absolutely he's giving inaccurate numbers. when shinseki went into office there were veterans in that that log. not 290at backlog it is 3300 to veterans in that backlog. bernie sanders is talking about a backlog that he created. veteranswas 630 3589 in march of 2013. he had over 600,000 veterans in that backlog. if you are going to give credit to a man for cutting a backlog he created, it is a false argument. 97% of those claims are being handled manually. themshinseki did not give that did not get them a

automated. they hired multiple contractors in getting these automated. 97% of those claims were handled manually. you need to get your data correct the kiss your giving pride to a man who stopped a backlog that he created? that is due to chris. host: denny is coming in from louisiana. hello. caller: yes, the thing about the i'll keep my story brief. ithink it's important that can did all because many veterans are facing the same thing. vietnam.d in i was a decorated combat action veteran. ptsd. back with up i went to work for my it destroyed my family, everything else.

when the gulf war started i began having anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and a heart attack. they tried to fix me, change my brain chemistry. . a federal judge said i was 100% disabled with ptsd. i settled with them the years later. i didn't do well. years later we started this next war in iraq and i begin again. host: where are you today? caller: after years of denial, denial for the most ridiculous reasons, making me jump through ago, and now three years right after obama will god and i

finally got a fair evaluation. host: thank you, sir. sympathize with his concern because many veterans told me the same thing. the average time to get a claim settled is 330 days just to get a claim settled. they have wait times to get their claims settled over 600 days in this nation. a year ago it was 345 days. what it normally should take is 30 days. it easily takes you over a year. vietnam veterans suffered the most because in 2009 -- they had to wait until 2000 nine to get ptsd recognized and agent or -- agent orange. secretary shinseki created a backlog because he was ill prepared to manage all of the claims and the flood of claims that came in. i find it appalling that senator sanders would defend somebody

who is created the very debacle that we are in right now. line.georgia, democrat call, i want to make a few brief comments. i am a v.a. employee and very proud. i worked extremely hard to service veterans. this is obviously very disheartening when you hear all this. the fact still need to be allowed to come out. it is an investigation at this point. i think folks need to calm down, let the facts come out, let the facts show what they may. is the fat -- if the facts are substantiated people should do with it accordingly. please do not vilify an entire system. there are some extremely hard-working people that are dedicated to serving veterans, including myself.

host: what kind of work do you do? i am working the patient advocacy role. that is a completely different elephant. we service veterans in every way possible. host: do you see a backlog? caller: the backlog is from the benefits side. i used to be a raider. i rated those cases that she is talking about. i rated them manually. my friends are still doing it. it is computerized now. there are a lot of variables that go into that. there are production requirements that are extremely stringent. days tell you i had many where i did not even use the restroom. you worked your case and you did not get up until those cases were in. then he picked up cases to continue pushing not to get

those in the next day. people are working extremely hard. these do not vilify the entire system. seen over the years changes in how the v.a. operates or can you see anything different from one administration to another? i'm not going to comment on administrations but there have been improvements. there continued to be improvements. it is like any system. no system is failproof. we work extremely hard. i would like to suggest you, get some folks to give the other side. no respect to the fine lady there who served our country greatly. but numbers are numbers, get some folks on the other side. i can assure you that a lot of them are very happy with the care we are giving.

caller: -- guest: i don't want anyone to misunderstand. we cannot keep coming back and talk about the people that are working so hard when we have so many people that have allowed a system of all that work to become a system that had a lot of back logs and collapse. it is starting to get automated but it did not until recently. i have seen the files in these buildings that became structurally unsound because they're so heavy with the weight. the buildings are collapsing under the weight of this. that is the problem within dod. that has caused a lot of problems. people should be upset. in 2011 33 veterans die per day. that is 20,000 veterans just waiting on their benefits. the backlog in these

appointments, when we are looking at albuquerque new when cheyenne wyoming sends out a memo that says game the system and hide network, not let the headquarters know that we have people waiting over 14 days for an appointment, this should outrage the employees. we should not have them come on here and say how great of a job we are doing. this is embarrassing that there are people that are not doing what they are supposed to do. that is what we are talking about, accountability. host: now with concerned veterans of america. colleen is coming in from fairfax virginia. hello. >> good morning. i ran for congress back in 2010. during my two years previous to the primary iran and the south carolina district six. wasof my top three items

veterans. i grew up during the vietnam era and i watched with a broken heart how we as a country and all the administrations prior to this one treated the veterans due to the vietnam war. i have watched that. one of my top three priorities was veterans. executives atmany walter reed and/or medical center in south carolina. there was atime nine-month backup. this was before shinseki announced the ptsd and agent orange. cousin both died of cancer related agent orange diseases 20 years ago. i have interviewed homeless veterans for years.

it is not this administration specifically. it has been years and years and years. it is so similar within the nrc and the veterans. you see the lower administrative and management working hard. youexecutives to hide who they height to make sure they hide things. host: i think we got your point. guest: she's hitting the nail on the head. i'm going to hold every administration accountable. this isn't a blame game. that haveecutives flagrantly hidden records and mismanaged the system. even employees working their tails off should not be justifying what these executives have gotten away with.

if you can't even take a bathroom break in your job, that tells me we are not running a system that is being streamlined and effective. notof those processors are giving accurate claims and we have over a quarter of a million veterans in the claims backlog and that takes over 1200 days to get address. we have a systemic problem within the veterans administration. it has only gotten worse when we open the doors for agent orange and ptsd. yes we have a lot of reasons this is all happening. thesegree when people say investigations should not get ace that should not get upset. i know veterans personally who cannot get in and get care for long time. i seen dr. squid. they can only get 10 minutes with a doctor. doctors have flat-out said i cannot do what i need to do to take care of you. we have got to fix this. there are lots of fixes that

need to happened. from palm call comes springs, california. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a 65-year-old vietnam veteran and i retired from the veterans administration after 23 years of service. i was a middle manager in the hospitals. then understand all controversy going on because i have seen it before many times. i can only tell you that the bureaucracy up in the v.a., they are laughing at you. they're going to go for a supplemental and then they going to go in for an increase and appropriations for the next cycle. this thing is going to blow over.

the secretary may resign, you get somebody new in their, and it will go back to the same way it was for the last 50 years. i don't know what the fixes. i was a staff sergeant. whatever the case may be. i worked my caps off during my time with the v.a. to help veterans. i blame congress. host: we have a lot on the table there. he is probably the most reasonable veterans administration employee we've talked to. they will work your tail off but the bureaucracy is overwhelming. that is the reality. let's not get defensive over something that is broken.

that youome so loyal can't see where there is flaws in a critical system. we are talking veterans, people should be outraged. if you're not outraged it gets buried and forgotten. we are hearing about 19 states that have been exposed with various scandals throughout the nation. we had one executive get $80,000 of bonuses. dead veteranse due to mismanagement on his medical facility. getad another executive close to an $11,000 bonus at a dental facility. we had sharon hellman. she got almost a $10,000 bonus, a little over nine thousand dollars in phoenix just last year. she fraudulently reported records in seattle in 2009 for veteran suicide. this should outrage v.a. employees.

these executives can turn around and give bonuses when they have latently sent out memos that teach other employees how to game the system to hide always veterans from looking like they have been waiting longer than they have for appointments. to the v.a. back in december. eric shinseki said he knew nothing about it until march. eric shinseki, if i had known about these scandals for well over a year, how can you say i don't want to jump to any conclusions until the results of these investigations? didn't you start investigating back in ohio with legionnaires disease? let's go ahead and forgive and give people a pass? somebody has to be held accountable. host: victoria from illinois, you are on. call, no one has asserted in all of this discussion that anyone

calling for an appointment, and medical appointment got an appointment later than was actually available. the real issue here. that's the real issue here is the loop -- the real issue here is the length of time to get an appointment. how are you dealing with the real issue, which is people have to wait too long? wii time was longer and people didn't get bonuses. how would that have changed things? i'm not saying they should get bonuses when they falsify records, but how would that have made a difference? the goals that lead to awards for people at the executive level are set with the knowledge of congress, with the knowledge of lots of people.

why is there a delay? why can't people be dealt with? host: thank you. guest: that was the responsibility of the executive to do that. they turned around and they falsified records that people were being seen within 14 days. how are congress going to know they were lying until these whistleblowers? congress has veterans who could not get seen. senatepe congress and that i do hold congress and senate accountable. we realize exactly what you are saying. texas, the colonoscopies would only be approved if the patient tested positive three successive saving -- three -- essive it is inoperable at that time. we are talking about people covering up. we should've rewarded executives

for saying i have 1600 veterans who want to get in on an appointment and i do not have doctors and nurses to get the job done. nobody is doing that. your point is accurate. ifse executives learned that they fronted their numbers and gave a different impression of what was really going on, gaming the system as documented by the v.a. it self, they would get bonuses. we have to flip the script and hold them accountable. we are talking about employees we want to get fired by the accountability act. if they can start firing executives they will be honest and demonstrate some integrity. host: you are on with former gunnery sergeant.

caller: good morning. i worked and retired in the air force with the department of energy. the system throughout the federal government is flawed. it's systemic. until there is a process whereby you can get rid of marginal is nighployees, which on impossible, this is going to continue. the continued use of the -- itmental administration have seen as and i have to tell you it is disheartening. there is no way that bernie sanders is going to allow any changes to the civil service or to the weighted of our mental and us ration accounts are used by these managers.

many of us tried to come in to solve this problem with the elite. it almost killed most of us. until congress takes action to change civil service -- change , thisvil service system overhead will continue to cause problems in day-to-day operations of any federal government agency. given what robert had to say what we do like to see done? just come when the accountability act went on the floor of the house, the only it on who sought -- saw the floor of the house -- this would risk your recruiting, we would not be able to get the best out there because we would risk them getting fired. that is a ridiculous concept. he have to run government like a fortune 500 company.

employee rights outnumber the veterans rights. when this becomes about employee rights over the lives of veterans, we have lost the concept of what veterans administration is about. we pay for this. v.a. management accountability act is not a silver bullet but it is a start. we have to at least hold employees accountable. start firing your employees, clean house. right now you want to wait for investigation results but yet you have evidence for years and years of mismanagement. host: what you think about the president's response? escom it disappointed me. they didn't realize action seki created that backlog. i was a little disappointed. he said this was unacceptable. himperson who disagreed on

-- he fired the person who disagreed with him on policies about the war but not -- he should have come out swinging mad in his testimony. he should have had more fire in his belly that he was not going to put up with this. good tosaying he was wait for results of investigations. guest: -- host: two final tweets -- -- lly guest: i am not going to say he do because the backlog. by opening the doors for more claims and not being prepared to handle those claims, that essentially is causing the backlog. every ceo out there, if they cause their corporation to have more hurdles than when they came on board by a result of their

they have to be held accountable. the backlog is six times is that -- is three times as bad as when he came into office. he has to be held accountable. the guest: jesse jane duff. >> transportation reporter .ugene mulero we mourn from the sportsmen's alliance speaks about three to guarantee the right to hunt and fish by amending the u.s. constitution. you can join the conversation at facebook and twitter.

washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. on c-span. >> next, some of the rd 14 commencement speeches from around the united states. >> christopher hitchens talking about his lifestyle. >> there's a risk in the bohemian lifestyle. i decided to take it, because whether it is an illusion or think it is, it helped my concentration. it stopped me being bored, stopped of the people being boring to some extent. it would keep me awake.

if i was asked would i do it again, the answer is probably yes, i would have quit earlier, probably. easy for me to say, not for nice for my children to hear. it is not very responsible. hypocritical of me to say no. i did know. everyone knows. i decided all of life is a wager. i'm going to wager on this bit. i can't make it come out any other way. withad the interview christopher hitchens and other conversations from our book notes. now available at your favorite bookseller. >> earlier this month, louis as bobbylouisiana governor jindal gave the commencement at liberty university. the republican governor

explained his conversion to christianity as he addressed an audience of 40,000 people at the lynchburg, virginia campus. this is 30 minutes. [applause] >> president falwell, thank you for that introduction. let's give another round of applause for this wonderful accomplishment. i have to warn you in advance. i have done a number of these graduations. i want to tell the students, you will have to bear with your parents today. you might witness some shedding of a tear or two. you might think they are replaying the years in their minds. you think they will be sadly wondering where all those years have gone by. you would be wrong about that.

those tears you see are actually tears of joy. from knowing that tuition bills from liberty university will finally stop coming. [applause] bitact, because of this, i your parents are the most genuinely happy people here today. by the way, this is probably a good time to let you know that i hate giving commencement addresses. i really do. the graduates and their families simply want to get on with it. -- the only thing worse than a commencement address is a commencement address by a politician. to use the college vernacular, it sucks to be you right now. i thought about giving your speech today about going out in

the world and working hard. i thought about giving your speech about all the great things that are happening in louisiana but i knew you would be bored by that. i thought i would give your speech about if you like your health care plan you can keep your health care plan. i decided i didn't want to lie to you today. giving yourout speech telling you that debt is good, redistribution of wealth is smart and personal morality doesn't matter anymore, but you only need to know those things if you're planning to go to work for the federal government in washington dc. bytead, the me start today telling you just a few things about my personal story. immigrated to this great country nearly half a century ago. they came without much, but they heard about the idea of america. that is what america really is.

it is an idea and a central tenet of that idea is freedom. freedom. when my folks arrived in louisiana in 1971, by mother was pregnant with me. i was what you would politely called a free existing condition. [laughter] my dad did look around for a handout for the government to pay the hospital bill. he worked out paying for me on an installment plan. aortly after was born, yes half but they would take me back if you skipped a payment. -- he asked if they would take me back if he skipped a payment. they said no. [laughter] america wasidea of that if you work hard, if you apply yourself, you will be successful. when he got to baton rouge, he got a job and went through the yellow pages and looked up company after company. he finally wore a guy down on the phone from the railroad

company. it is pretty amazing. my dad has got an accent. not a southern accent like me, but an accent. he not only convinces guide to high him, but he told the guy who said you could start on have a caron't drivers license. you had to pick me up on the way to work monday morning. [laughter] i could tell you lot of other amusing stories about my folks adjusting to life in america. i want to fast-forward to the most significant thing that has happened to me. it happened when i was a child. a friend i knew gave me a rather odd christmas present that year. ofgained my very first copy the bible. some can later, girl and you invited me to church. here i was looking for a date and you must use looking to save my soul. i found the gospel message intriguing good i will be honest, i was skeptical. i'm an analytical soda person.

i decided to investigate all of these fanciful claims. i started reading this bible and often times hiding in my closet not sure how my parents would respond. -- ihort story is this read the words of jesus christ and i realize that they were true. i used to say that i found god, but i think it is more accurate to say that he found me. it happened because there were people brave enough to preach the gospel in my life good many years later, i became a candidate for political office. when i may 1 debates i got this question -- what was the single most important moment in your life? i had just endured endless hours of debate prep sessions with my political consultants and staff. that is wasted around and be savagely grilled by the people that you pay come you clinical consultants and staffers. i knew exactly what they hoped i

would say. argan i should try to appeal to female voters and offer a i asked forry when my wife's hand in marriage and the birth of our first child, a baby girl. ,es, those were great moments but i decided to do something new in politics. i told the audience the truth that day, that the most significant moment in my life was a moment that i accepted jesus christ as my personal lord and savior. [applause] my political consultants began shifting uncomfortably in their seats. i have got to make, i enjoyed that moment. sshought of matthew 10:33 whoever denies me before men, i've will also deny him before my father who is in heaven. n, the powerr roma of god brings out the

celebration and everyone who believes. is anay college intellectual pursuit involving reason and logic. i went to brown university. it is a place that prides itself on intellectual reasoning. one of the good things about going to brown as i was quickly able to become president of the college republicans on campus. only other republican student brown became the vice president. [laughter] some kids go off to college and they lose their way. you become convinced that their faith is not intellectual pursuit. nothing could be further from the truth. reason and logic lead to truth. .eason and logic lead to god there's a general view among many elites in america that the truly enlightened folks realize that all of the state and religion stuff is just quaint and antiquated thinking from an earlier era or that it is a nice and wrestle place for those who are not as right or intellectual

periods as they are. again, nothing could be further from the truth. true intellectual curiosity will lead to an understanding of our creator. i have noticed examples of this with thef you of faith national political reporters. usually from places like boston or new york or washington, d.c. they would come to interview me in my first years as governor. during his interviews, they would say something like this -- governor, you are a smart guy. we know you went to brown. tell me, how is it you call yourself pro-life? how do you say you oppose gay marriage? how do you oppose gun control? be honest. you're just saying that to get elected in the deep south, right? have fun, i like to with these reporters. i would lean over and whisper number 10 to confide in them and say, just between us, do me a favor -- tell your editors the

bad news. tell them i absolutely believe everything i said. [applause] those interviews ended rather abruptly. they never came back after that for some reason. i want to shift gears and talk straight with you about the world we live in and the culture to which our students are about to the into. the world is increasingly hostile to matters of faith. american culture is in many ways become a secular culture. it you are going into world that is far more secular than the one your parents entered. a few months ago, i had the opportunity to speak at the reagan library out in california . i talked about the silent war on religious liberty in america today. the decoration independent says we are nation constituted with the laws of nature and of nature's god. we are people endowed by our creator with certain unalienable

rights. explicit -- the source and justification for the very existence of the united states of america is and always has been contingent upon the understanding of man as a created being where the greater withnges -- infused him his rights o. me, i'm a catholic christian. my parents are hindus. there are so many more with the rich keep the street of faith. i know men and women -- with the faith.pestry of i know men and women who look to the majesty of the world and wondered and inwardly seek the author of it all. these days we think this diversity of the leaf is

tolerated under our law and constitution -- believes is tolerated under our law, but that is wrong. this diversity is the foundation of our law and constitution. america does not sustain and create things. faith created and sustained america. [applause] america did not have been religious freedom amended america. 1798dent john adams in road to the massachusetts militia meant to remind them that our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. it is wholly inadequate to the government than any other unit in 1798, this is simple, commonsense. in 2014, were forced to confront a question that would have been on thinkable to president adams and many others throughout history.

what happens when our government decides it no longer needs a moral and religious people? today the american people are mired in a silent war. it is a war against the propositions on the declaration of independence. it is a war against the spirit that motivated abolitionism. it is a war against the soul of countless acts of charity. it is a work as a conscience that drives social change. there is the war against the heart that binds our neighborhood together. it is a war against america's best self and best moments. it is a war. a silent war against religious liberty. this war has been waged in our sports and the halls of political power. it is pursued with graham and relentless determination a group determinedded elites

to transform our country from a man sustained by faith and where faith is silenced and privatized and circumscribed. their vision of america is not the vision of the founders. it is not even a vision of 10 years ago. it is a vision in which individuals devotion to almighty muchs afforded about as respect as a casual hobby and is not as many rights and protections. these elites faced little opposition. my question to our graduates is -- would you be a part of that? margaret thatcher famously said this -- america was created by philosophy. the secular elite understands this just as well as she did. they know that to take over america, they must make war on this philosophy.

a real undercurrent dropping fraction debate in a number of areas of policy. why is this happening? what does it mean for the country and the people of faith. it is a representative fundamental challenge for our american identity and exceptional history that makes our nation great? incident three storylines playing out in our state and the -- all of them have overlapping effects. first, the freedom to exercise your religion the way you run your business large or small is under assault. you likely heard obama demonstration's take in a hobby lobby. presentttle against obama's contraception mandate will end up at the supreme court decision. they filed suit after being told they would be fined $1.3 million per day if they didn't pay for

this type of insurance. hobby lobby is nothing less than an all american success story. the sound of the company was launching oklahoma in 1970 with nothing more than a $600 loan and a workshop in a garage. today they have 588 stores and 47 -- in 47 states. they have many full-time employees. to have aexpanded christian supply shop that sells bibles and opening up another 35 stores in seven states of the most 400 more employees. as his entrepreneurship at its best. a family-owned business that went from $600 in a garage to do companies that employ almost 14,000 people full-time across the country. through it all, hobby lobby has retained the guiding principles of the devout founders. the statement begins with a bible verse and they are closed every sunday. they're committed to honoring the lord by being generous players and paying well above minimum wage and increasing the salaries for years in a row even

in the middle of a recession. none of this it to the obama administration. say that fateful business owners cannot operate under the assumption in which they can use their moral principles to guide the way their places of business spend money. according to administration legal argument, the family that owns hobby lobby is not protected by the first amendments are free use of exercise. that is part of the amendment tested congress will make no law prohibiting the free exercise religion. the obama administration and attorney general eric holder argue that hobby lobby is a for-profit secular employer and a second entity by definition is not exercisable religion reared a federal judge agrees. does he have the lobby is a secular corporation in which there are no right to be guided by the religious belief of their ownership. lobbyn mind that hobby was arguing that so-called

morning-after pill should be illegal or banned for doing anything to prevent their employees from being the small cost of such bills. they just have a moral problem paying for something they view as inherently against the deeply held beliefs. the obama administration ignored these beliefs and treats them as little more than an inconvenience to their ever-expanding regulatory state. let's be clear that this is bigger than hobby lobby. the administration argument strikes at the core of our understanding of free exercise of religion. this could have enormous from vacations for religious business owners across the country. under the obama regime come you the protection of the worst youdment as an individual see, but instance you start a business, you lose those protections. that brings us to the second front in the silent war. the assault on our freedom of people of faith to form

organizations work alongside others who share our views. this brings us to another case a lutheran around academy fired teacher. the obama administration does that she margaret claiming that job regulations prevented the academy from being able to fire anyone over a year friends in beliefs. the lawyers of the vomitus ration and far beyond issues of that case and advanced a legally absurd position that there is no general exception. thankfully administration's extreme position had a 9-0 decision opposing its perspective. [applause]

for the time being, the government doesn't get to decide who gets to preach the gospel. the important thing to note is that the government wanted to make that decision. i do not know but you, but that is truly offensive and frightening. administration advance that extreme argument because it is consistent with the view of many on the left, particularly legal scholars. the government must worship first is government. byt our rights are filled washington as they see fit shared this is the big inning. there's a bigger threat -- the assault of your freedom expression in all areas of life. altering the definition of marriage. it would require churches and other congregations to essentially close their doors to outsiders and stop providing services to the community and close off their facilities so that other nonprofits and church groups in order to to prevent

being provided to have same-sex ceremonies. churches torive have to eliminate classes and day schools and counseling and fellowship hall meetings and soup kitchens and much more. in other words, this law and others like it would require believers to essentially choose to break their deeply held illogical beliefs or to give up their daily activities of evangelism and retreat from public life and sacrifice the property rights. this is the next stage of the assault and it is only getting in over one majority of those in religious denominations in america is more than half the country. organizations -- all of those two nominations would be targeted in large and small decrease in the coming years. america, would they

be able to remain in a public square at a time when their views on sin are in direct conflict with the culture? when expressing those views would be seen as "hateful speech behind religious protections"? tos war on your freedom express will only to continue. it will continue because of a wrong concept. the concept that religious freedom means that you have the is begun that you're right only begin and end in the pew. this is absolutely ridiculous. we as christians and americans have the right to practice our faith and to protect our conscience no matter where we happen to be. [applause]

but it is also important that we must keep paper spec on the silent war. it is certainly a challenging time to be a believer in america, but we must also of levershe plight around the world today. christians are being slaughtered by radical islamist for their beliefs. it is a time of enormous a pupil leave the church been burned or they can put you on the wrong side of a gun. the cross is laid on every christian. it begins with a call to abandon the attachments of the world. when christ calls a man, he bids them to come and i. around the world, many christians are living out that call. that is a shooting war over religion and not a silent one. in america, we should be grateful that the laws and theciples put in place by

founders, men like george mason and james madison and patrick henry who understood the importance of religious liberty have endured for so long. they are the reason america has come so far. it is those same principles that guide us farther still cared was both that understand that powers derived from the people and not from government. calvin coolidge understood this in his own time. andive in an age of science the value of material things. this did not great our declaration. our declaration created them. the spirit come first. unless we cling to that, all of our material prosperity will turn to a barren scepter in our grass. he was right. the things of the spirit do come first. we must act now to protect them. the temptation to ask richard and his fractious battles from practical terms, it would only

matter to those who value religious freedom and that was won over the course of centuries of persecution and blood. we should not surrender without a fight. the word religious they would is a war over free speech. without the first, there is no such thing as a second. this is not a battle any of us would have chosen. and done we should join so gladly with our heart and mind set on things above. i really just liberty should not be linked to the ever-changing opinions of the public. the contrary, we must understand that our freedom of conscience protects all in all of every persuasion -- all americans of every persuasion here it is unmistakable that most of the obama administration's attacks on religious liberty are aimed at conservative christian. the fact is that our religious liberties were designed to protect people of all faiths the

best described as an evangelical catholic, and extended families quite diverse when it comes to matters of faith. our liberties would mean equal protection for all. third, for those of you who follow pop culture, you might --e taken note of the recent duck dynasty and the producers and broadcasters for the duck dynasty show. you had noticed one of the first and the loudest and most aggressive defenders are the robertson family and the governor of louisiana. [applause] you may think i was defending them simply because on the governor of their home state, louisiana. you might have thought i defended them he cut my boys are huge fans of the show. you would have been wrong about that -- i defended them because my boys are huge fans of the show. you would have an wrong about that.

of course, they can choose what to put on their. -- the air. there was a time when liberals buthis country believed, that is increasingly not the case for the modern left in america. the modern left is growing tired of debates. the new strategy simply to try to silence their critics. these left is a newly mobilize and did all they could not to debate the issues, but rather to attempt to silence the robertsons. as you well know, the same thing with another week demonstration of intolerance from the entertainment industry. featuringorking on twin brothers who graduated right here from liberty university in 1988. i would like to ask them to stand up.

let's have a round of applause for the current and the grace. [applause] their grace.d [applause] show thisled their week allegedly because they learned that one of the brothers protested the democratic arctic invention and the other protested at an abortion clinic. convention and the other protested at an abortion clinic. if i are the them have dated at convention, -- if either of them had road tested at a conservative convention, they probably would have gotten a raise. there is intolerance. to paraphrase, a liberal is who -- the modern left

is completely intolerant of the views of the people of faith. a completely secular society where people of faith keep her views to themselves. ronald reagan's that freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. it must be fought for and defended constantly each generation. in america are not being burned to the ground. christians are not being slaughtered for their faith. there's no comparison to the persecution of people of faith inside our borders and outside. we have established that our culture has taken a secular turn . we have established the persecution of christian is on the rise throughout the world. to establish religious liberty here is under siege. we have established that the left is no longer wanting a debate and simply wants to silence us. now what? what do we do about it and what

should you do about it? you should be optimistic and be of good cheer. this is an exciting time to be a believer. it is true that christians are the last group that it is ok to discriminate in america. so what? if god is with us, who could be against us? [applause] to the graduates, couple of last don't seedvice -- yourself as a victim. america has enough people seeing themselves as big ones. go out -- as victims. go out into this world that need you more than ever before. you should be bold in your faith and embrace opportunities to stand up for the truth. just like those people in my life, you never know who you might be landing the seed of the

gospel that could change someone's life for all eternity. god bless you. congratulations on your graduation carried god bless -- congratulations on your regulation. -- bless and cancellations and congratulations to the class of 2014. [cheers and applause] quarks with graduation season upon us, c-span is asking, what you advise to this year's graduates? you can leave your advice for graduates at facebook .com/c-span.

>> massachusetts governor deval patrick spoke of the commencement anniversary at the university of massachusetts in amherst. he called on the students to become good citizens by addressing climate change and clean energy initiatives. governor patrick is scheduled to leave office in generally when he finishes up his second term. this is 15 minutes. [applause] thank you. chairman thomas the members of the board of trustees, members of the faculty and staff, senator rosenberg, representatives, honorees, distinguished guests, family and friends, and the proud and worthy members of the u mass

class of 2014 -- cap underline applause]s and >> congratulations for reaching this milestone and thank you for having me. handain event is dating in the degree for which you had worked hard for. i'm aware of that and how important it is for me to get on and off as quickly as possible. i get it. question is what is next? ,rom the time you were little some and had almost certainly been asking you what you wanted to be when you grow up. it is what adults ask kids, especially parents of their own kids. the kids answer with gusto. as young people get closer to seemsgrown up, the gusto

to fade. when my daughters were college seniors, i would ask them and their friends what plans they were making for their lives after college. they hated that question. is it made them feel pressured to choose a career before they felt quite ready to do so. i tried to be patient. try to leave the site mentioning when i was their age, i do not have the option not to choose a path for myself after school. i also wanted them to understand as i do you that the choice you make now need not be and probably won't be the choice for all time. wonder whereday, i in the world would we be if nobody ever wanted to be anything? i certainly hope there are future doctors, lawyers, engineers here. [applause] i guess there are. i hope there are future soldiers

and sailors and nurses and elders here. [applause] apparently there are some of those, too. i hope there are some of you who will have more than one career in the course of their working lives and i hope that whatever you choose to do that you do it with integrity. above all, i hope you will choose to be good citizens. emphasis onmuch education as a pathway to a good job. i get that. education will be the key to your success and ours as a nation. despite strong job gains in massachusetts, we still have 220,000 people looking for work. vacancies. the players keep telling us is that they can't find people with the skills that they need to do the job that they have.

your education here is more than just being prepared to be good employees. it is about preparation for citizenship itself. good citizens take an interest in people and issues outside themselves. they understand community. they inform themselves about what is happening in their community and a volunteer. they listen. they both. good citizens do not just live and work in a community. community. what a beautiful community you are. you are 5500 graduate strong. race,present nearly every ethnicity, and religion on the planet and scores of languages and culture. many of you are the first ones

in your family to learn english or to go to college or to graduate school. through this community, you are connected to each other and to the larger world. many of you clearly understand that and live out way. -- live that way. i remember a student who grade a program to connect homeless people to local resources for food, health care, and jobs. or another student and other massnts of the u engineering team who designed a mechanical arm to help the disable kindergartner feed himself. for air force staff sergeant who having served two combat tours

toiraq was to use his degree make higher education more acceptable to returning veterans. [applause] you and so many others exemplify the highest form of dreams and by seeing struggles. we are caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality, dr. king used to say. tied in a single garment of destiny. whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. andany of you are living acting in that spirit and making the kinds of choices good citizens make. it makes this faculty, your family, and a very proud indeed. it seems to me that same spirit

has to infuse more the public policy. surely no policy choice before this community and common law in this nation is more emblematic and climate change. we cannot continue to consume so much of the world's energy. it takes little responsibility for the impact of that consumption and the lives of others and the life of the planet itself. week the obama administration released a report co-authored by over 300 independent scientists that catalogs the evidence of climate change and its impact. assessment demonstrates that finally change is an issue right now and not just for future generations. the impacts that are being held in all corners of the country are in a range of manifestations including heat wave, coastal

flooding, and intense precipitation and more extreme storms. of those weather changes have .mplications most of these conclusions are not new. we are seeing more severe weather extremes in our commonwealth and our region and more hurricanes and wildfires and more coastal damage and blizzards. starting seven years ago with that future in mind, we massachusetts took a fresh look at the energy reality. we knew that it we harnessed massachusetts grown energy sources and reduce energy consumption and protect our natural resources, we could strengthen the environment and our economy. i am proud of the progress we -- and then example example we have set. today we have nearly 500

megawatts installed and we will triple that by 2020. this to over 300 megawatts of wind capacity and today we have 103 megawatts of land-based wind and are poised to go home to the nation's first offshore wind farm. we have tripled the energy we are saving from the energy initiatives and lead the nation in energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction. working with other states that the regional greenhouse gas initiative, a lobar the carbon emissions throughout the region and demonstrated that that market based cap and trade approach worked. between 2000 and 2012, the electricity generated from coal in england drop from 18% to three percent. electricity generated from oil

is down from 22% to less than one percent. we have reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 60% below 1990 levels already and we are well on our way to the goal reducing emissions i fully pray five percent by the year 2020. our economy -- reducing emissions fully by 35% by the year 2020. our economy -- massachusetts grew at a healthy 2.6% rate. ,n the last quarter massachusetts grew 69% faster than the national growth rate. with over 5500 clean energy nearly 80,000 clean energy workers, massachusetts is one of the strongest clean energy market in the nation. we can do more.

by generating trace 15, -- generally 2015, we will make our communities more resilient. several plans have been closed and the recent years and to remain. years, bothext four should shut down. massachusetts should finally end all reliance on conventional coal generation. to cleaner natural gas. we should be mindful of the hazards of pipeline leaks to our immediate safety and to the environment. we should have that same care that the source of extraction.

we should double down on solar, wind, and hydro generation. we should migrate away from fossil fuels and transportation. find better sources for energy efficiency. we are getting the cleanest energy possible at every moment. it is not the ideal today, but it will get us there tomorrow. it is how we move from good to better the best. it is an economy driven by homegrown independent sources and renewable energy and cutting

edge technology and hyper efficient cars and buildings. it is a feature within our grasp. we do not have to wait for disaster. remember the stone age did not end because we ran out of stones. it is because humankind imagine a better way. good citizens who no longer compromise the water and air we , why? because good citizens understand we are all connected and bound together in the inescapable network of mutuality.

i think of a young lawyer on my staff. he was at equal distance from the first explosion from the second one on boylston street. there are no strangers here. my daughter was walking towards boylston street when the first bomb went off. she helped care for the injured. we are not strangers. we are all connected to each

other. we share the same fears and the same hopes and community. we are tied in a single garment of destiny. -- affects one directly affects us all indirectly. we are one community. be good citizens. the kind u mass has prepared you to be in your future and the world will be bright indeed. congratulations graduates. god bless you. good luck. [cheers and applause]

>> as part of the 2014 commencement coverage, we are joined by an english professor who has participated in the school's commencement selection ross says. he is also served as president of the american association of the university of professors. his latest book is "no university is an island." how does that university go about screening who to choose for the commencement address? >> what we do is we focus on the commencement speakers were going to receive an honorary degree which is rigidly that case across the country that has been speaker receives an honorary degree. the faculty senate has about 200 faculty members who are elected. they tie do consider them worthy of the speech and award a

degree. in a senate meeting, we discussed the possible people. on a number of occasions, we have advised that the university not go forward with a particular person. just this year, we recommended against two people. they were not used. i'm not going to give their names. baggage a good test of whether they're likely to be a problem with other people on campus. it is a wide enough constituency that if there will be problems, the problems will be raised at that point. all i can say really is that

this year there were no graduating senior responses. i think the problem of doing that is that if we're going to turn someone down, we really want to avoid publicity. you wouldn't want to embarrass someone. you want to have a vetting process that avoids insulting or embarrassing a potential speaker shared of course, that is what has happened on many campuses this year. by the time the speaker gets announced, then the protests arrive. others have been concerned there be public demonstrations. the whole purpose is to avoid it. i'm not sure you could really put a lid on the names. >> we want to show our viewers a

recent cartoon of the boston globe on that particular issue. some of the professors say, "we believe we found some who will offend no one. and someone is screaming, "hold on! isn't that the walmart face?" [laughter] the faculty has a strong influence on who gets elected. >> you have to get a broader feel. the commitment speech is an on location. people, controversial people speak on college campuses all the time. they draw a large audience and

it might speak before their particular constituency on campus. i think it is important that students and faculty be challenged by talks on campus and that they have many occasions to listen to controversial points of view. commencements are on -- are on. >> you mentioned honorary degree. what about payment? do most get paid? and what about a speaker being withdrawn? with that payment still be drew? >> i doubt if the payment would still be due in most cases. the truth is that sometimes when an honorary degree is off for, there might -- the speaker may not get a fee or the fee might be lower if it is an honorary degree. money comes and goes. if you get a honorary degree it

has to name, that stays with you until the end of your days. there are certainly speakers that are brought in really because there is a whole that they have a particular interest in some of them -- so program the open initiative -- that will be an initiative. apps hoping if it is a -- perhaps hoping if it is a wealthy speaker, they will donate to the university the future. there are many cases where the commencement speakers have an honorary degree and are targeted to people of means in the hopes that they will work with the university of noting some particular program that the university is concerned with. if we they will not be offered a -- there wealthy. i do not need the university's money. at the or wants their money. >> cary nelson is a former president on the american

association of university professors. he served as an english professor at the university of illinois. you can find out more at his website. >> once you have announced a commencement speaker, withdrawing that invitation or the honorary degree is basically an act of cowardice. i don't think that should happen. i think it is deplorable. when a university doesn't have the kurds to stay with its convictions. that is one of the worst things that can happen. it is also impossible to survive a demonstration at a commencement talk. there's nothing wrong in my view with an organized demonstration. banners, chants, whatever taking place for 30 seconds or a minute.

the people engage in the demonstration sit down and listen to the talk. a lot of people feel any demonstration is unacceptable. i think you can live with the demonstration so long as the people who are demonstrating accept the notion they have to let the speech go on. what is in conflict is if demonstrators try to present -- prevent a speech from taking place. some of the commencement speakers that have withdrawn have been afraid that they might face that kind of demonstration with the aim is to violate freedom and to prevent the speaker from continuing. that has happened in not commencement situations a fair number of times in the last few years. that reflects a failure to educate people on campus about the need to let people have their say when they are invited. >> professor nelson, we appreciate you joining us here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> indiana congressman luke messer was a 2014 commencement speaker at ball state university. the republican freshman class president of congress told his story to capitol hill which included four years as an indiana state representative and serve as direct your of the state republican party -- director other state republican party. ctor other state republican party. [applause] >> wow. what a day. thank a university president for that generous

introduction and everyone at the university for this tremendous honor. i have a confession to make -- i love amendments. -- commencements. they are day to celebrate achievements and new beginnings for each graduate. it is a day to remember the families and the teachers who have health you reach your goals. i love all of the well earned smiles. congratulations to each of you. congratulations is in order for the university president who is retiring after 10 years of leading this world-class university. you are a force of nature. [applause]

she even brought the sunshine today. there was no way it was going to rain on her last commencement. your groundbreaking efforts will leave an indelible mark on this campus for decades to come. thank you for your incredible service and best of luck in your next endeavor. i also want to acknowledge my life who is here today -- wife who is here today with our children. i want to thank my mom, fordfather, and my aunt being here today. she received her masters in psychology from ball state in 1992. i love you all. i stand before you as a u.s. congressman. i stand before you as someone who has lived a life like your own. i grew up in modest

circumstances in greensburg, indiana. i worked my way through school to graduate from ball state -- wabash college. [laughter] in the late 1980's, i did not spend a lot of time here because ball state has girls and wabash is not. muncie working as a waiter. i had a lot of great memories of this campus. today i am going to talk to you about career advice and not about life device. frankly, life device is far more organ to happiness. liketant life principles put faith and family first. be loyal. listen. hire a good accountant.

marry for love, not money. and flossfor rest regularly and exercise. all are worthy life advice. but career guidance seems far more appropriate for a commencement speech. in that spirit, i plan to focus on three principles that have helped guide me with my career. hopefully they will help you too. they are, all your opportunities, make a plan, and never quit. own your opportunities. for the better part of 400 years, from the founding of the earliest colonial settlement in , america and plymouth has consistently proven itself to be the greatest engine of

opportunity in the history of mankind. no other place comes even close as we are all blessed to be a part of it. cultureately, pop sometimes sends a different message. seen struck recently they -- be a scene in the comedy called "the internship." we did not win any oscars, but it starts: wilson and vince vaughn. they pay that play 45-year-old competing with very talented 20-year-old for jobs at google. at the climax of the movie, they are downtrodden. it seems clear. they will lose their jobs. moment, they discourage

-- a discourage young intern says "the whole american dream thing that you guys are up on, that is all it is nowadays. a dream. graduates, do not ever allow yourself to believe that will stop instead, think about this. there is more information on then there wase in the local library when your parents grow. sure, life in modern america is not all, candy and rainbows. but for many of our challenges, our country remains an amazing place. it is the land of opportunity. here are a few facts. despite china's marco economic