1998 Saint John Spring Convocation
Graduation Address
Delivered by: Lee, Philip J.
Content
"'The time is out of joint'" Telegraph-Journal (23 May 1998). (UA Case 67, Box 3)
Rev. Philip J. Lee of Saint John told 250 graduates gathered for the 24th spring convocation of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John that—to use Hamlet’s words—"the time is out of joint."
In the day’s convocation address, Rev. Lee, awarded a doctor of letters at yesterday’s ceremony, said "Hamlet is saying about his own generation that something is wrong. Not everything. He does not say that the time is broken, that the situation is beyond repair, that it’s all over for people like himself. No, 'the time is out of join' – like a dislocated shoulder, or knee, my generation needs fixing.
"Now I don’t want to rain on your celebrations. And perhaps given the day, I should speak some blithe and bland words about the great opportunities out there for all of you, but I cannot. After all, I am a Presbyterian.
Rev. Lee said "what needs fixing, I believe, is an attitude, a mind-set. It is an attitude of defeat, a mindset that we ordinary people have no power.
"There is, we are told, an economic system which operates like a force of nature. You and I cannot argue with the system, they say, anymore than we can argue with the laws of gravity. There is a bottom line. There is the rule of supply and demand. There are the necessities of marketing and consumption. There is an acceptable employment level and an acceptable inflation level.
"Outside of those parameters, you and I, we’re told, have no freedom. Because as we are told day after day by a relentless barrage of information, outside of those strictures of the global marketplace, there are no longer any choices to be made.
"So, for example, we would like Canada to have the best public school system possible but we are told we can’t afford it. We would like to have a public health program second to none but we are told the global market will not allow it. We would like to have an economic climate in which our young people could stay here in the Maritimes where they have roots and a culture but we are told that such a future is not possible in the 'real' world."
Rev. Lee went on to say that "two thousand years ago, a young rabbi had the temerity to question the system. An older generation of religious leaders were insisting that nothing could be changed, that their interpretations of Sabbath observance was immutable and eternal. The young rabbi said: 'But wait. Humanity was not made for the Sabbath laws. The Sabbath laws were made for humanity.' "When will a teacher or prophet in our day have the courage to say 'But wait, human beings were not made to serve the economic system. An economic system was made to serve human beings.'?"
Rev. Lee told the graduates that it was a "blessing" that they were in place to "set things right" and said he would urge them to use their new skills and status to "connect the economy to the important things of life—to family and friendships, to tradition, to education, to the arts, to religion."
Rev. Philip J. Lee of Saint John told 250 graduates gathered for the 24th spring convocation of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John that—to use Hamlet’s words—"the time is out of joint."
In the day’s convocation address, Rev. Lee, awarded a doctor of letters at yesterday’s ceremony, said "Hamlet is saying about his own generation that something is wrong. Not everything. He does not say that the time is broken, that the situation is beyond repair, that it’s all over for people like himself. No, 'the time is out of join' – like a dislocated shoulder, or knee, my generation needs fixing.
"Now I don’t want to rain on your celebrations. And perhaps given the day, I should speak some blithe and bland words about the great opportunities out there for all of you, but I cannot. After all, I am a Presbyterian.
Rev. Lee said "what needs fixing, I believe, is an attitude, a mind-set. It is an attitude of defeat, a mindset that we ordinary people have no power.
"There is, we are told, an economic system which operates like a force of nature. You and I cannot argue with the system, they say, anymore than we can argue with the laws of gravity. There is a bottom line. There is the rule of supply and demand. There are the necessities of marketing and consumption. There is an acceptable employment level and an acceptable inflation level.
"Outside of those parameters, you and I, we’re told, have no freedom. Because as we are told day after day by a relentless barrage of information, outside of those strictures of the global marketplace, there are no longer any choices to be made.
"So, for example, we would like Canada to have the best public school system possible but we are told we can’t afford it. We would like to have a public health program second to none but we are told the global market will not allow it. We would like to have an economic climate in which our young people could stay here in the Maritimes where they have roots and a culture but we are told that such a future is not possible in the 'real' world."
Rev. Lee went on to say that "two thousand years ago, a young rabbi had the temerity to question the system. An older generation of religious leaders were insisting that nothing could be changed, that their interpretations of Sabbath observance was immutable and eternal. The young rabbi said: 'But wait. Humanity was not made for the Sabbath laws. The Sabbath laws were made for humanity.' "When will a teacher or prophet in our day have the courage to say 'But wait, human beings were not made to serve the economic system. An economic system was made to serve human beings.'?"
Rev. Lee told the graduates that it was a "blessing" that they were in place to "set things right" and said he would urge them to use their new skills and status to "connect the economy to the important things of life—to family and friendships, to tradition, to education, to the arts, to religion."
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