hope

Commencement speeches are often a source of inspiration, because even the crustiest curmudgeon can't seem to bring himself or herself to rain on the parade of a sea of hopeful 22 year olds on their way into the “real world.”  And sometimes, the commencement speaker is a hopeless dreamer anyway, which makes for even more inspiration in that moment of possibility.  Here is a little bit of what Google co-founder Larry Page said to this year’s crop of graduates at the University of Michigan (my alma mater)

Healthy societies need good journalists, and good journalists need safe spaces and like-minded colleagues to chart a course for the future of journalism.

The Dart Society and Images and Voices of Hope are hosting gatherings of journalists in cities across the U.S. as part of Project Invictus: The Future of Journalism.

If ever there was an image and voice of hope, it was President Barack Obama on January 20th in his riveting inaugural address. Having won the hearts and minds of the American people in a clear victory, he could speak with confidence about things that may have seemed innocent or naïve before - urgings us forward with "hope and virtue."

The effect was instantaneous. The country -in fact the world - felt buoyant, uplifted, even light hearted. No one had missed the seriousness of the cautions about the future, but we all felt there was integrity and possibility again.