Bad Advice for New Graduates

Change Magazine ^ | May-June 2008 | P.J. O'Rourke

[marktwain]

Pretty good advice, and funny as usual.

[cherry]

the loudest and most obnoxious and evil 60’s radicals are all corporate lawyers or college presidents now or in the Senate.....once they decided they really liked the capitalist pig society and its money, they went for it.....got it....they didn’t want to stay behind with we mere patriots and mortals....

[jdub]

I love P.J..

[hsalaw]

If you want a mule, if you want a pot roast, if you want a cleaning lady, don’t whine about what the people across the street have. Go get your own.

This is the difference between liberalism and conservatism. They whine about what others have; we go get our own.

[A_perfect_lady]

“No, I can’t fix public education. The problem isn’t funding or teachers’ unions or a lack of vouchers or an absence of computer equipment in the classrooms. The problem is your kids!”

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Whiplash]

I have to disagree about the go get rich thing, and maybe a couple others. Maybe it should read: Go do what you love and get rich.

[Amelia]

Ok, not exactly public school news, but a pretty good commencement address....

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[Knitebane]

I have to disagree about the go get rich thing,

Then you disagree with scripture.

Genisis 1:28. God's very first instruction to Adam and Eve.

[Cyber Liberty]

I like P. J. a lot. Paraphrase one of my favorite PJism: Opportunity doesn’t just knock...it’ll try the doorknob and if it’s locked, it will go for a first-floor open window.

[Army Air Corps]

A friend of mine had a cartoon in his office that said basically the same thing, but with a bit of salty language.

[FrdmLvr]

Did he actually deliver this address to a graduating class or is it a column? It sounds like a slam on Obama’s. I noticed it was published in an education journal of some sort, which explains the title.

[Tenacious 1]

I have to disagree about the go get rich thing, and maybe a couple others. Maybe it should read: Go do what you love and get rich.

I think it is the sarcastic overtone with exaggerated emphasis that is discomforting. The basic message, however, is exemplary of the most productive and responsible portion of our population.

We do work hard to provide for a certain living standard. We may all have different standards. But to the extent that we "want" things Vs. what we "need" is only limited by our own effort, education and skill. This is America. Do the best you can with what you have. Be productive. That is the best thing any of us can do for our country.

This is in sharp contrast to the mostly liberal message and examples. "It's not your fault. Sue the man. The government owes you. Protect everyone from the rich." This is counterproductive for the nation as a whole.

[sinanju]

“I’m here to speak in favor of unfairness. I’ve got a ten-year-old at home. And she’s always saying, “That’s not fair.” When she says that, I say, “Honey, you’re cute. That’s not fair. Your family is pretty well off. That’s not fair. You were born in America. That’s not fair. Darling, you had better pray to God that things don’t start getting fair for you.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Now THERE’S the quote of the day.

[Beatthedrum]

P.J. O’Rourke, what a great mind and a talented man. To his point, how many other people would look at O’Rourke and envy his talents, rather than embrace them - want to punish him for his talent by taking away as much money as they can from his creative enterprise and give it to dim-witted slobs.

He's so on the money about the 60’s generation, the boomers, a generation more inwardly focused than any previous American generation. All that talk about changing the world, standing up against “the man”, it all turned out be be nothing more than a way to get laid or at least draw some attention to oneself. The first President from that generation, proved to be the poster boy for his generation - consumed by selfish, reckless desire, an adolescent pretending to be an adult, a total fraud.

What great advice this is for young people today and should be mandatory reading at every commencement ceremony in the country !

[marktwain]

“Did he actually deliver this address to a graduating class or is it a column? It sounds like a slam on Obama’s. I noticed it was published in an education journal of some sort, which explains the title.”

---

It was published in this magazine, and a shortened version was published in the L A Times and other places.

I don't know if he gave it to a graduating class, but I would not be surprised if he did.

[GraceCoolidge]

Funny, I was re-reading some PJ O'Rourke the other day-- Age and Guile... and Eat the Rich. I enjoyed Eat the Rich, and still like it, but Age and Guile left me kind of cold. It seemed crude to me, compared to his other works. I have to look and see what he has written more recently.

I recognize some of his phrases in here as recycled from various columns and books, he's said a lot of this before-- but it is worth saying. Actually, one of the quotes my husband and I use a lot is from PJ O'Rourke: "Everybody wants to save the Earth. Nobody wants to help Mom with the dishes." It so accurately sums up all the deep thinkers out there who are going to do Something Big, rather than doing a good job on the tasks at hand.

[tanknetter]

I don't know, a fair number of them (or maybe it's just the rank and file an not the most obnoxious and evil) went into career Government service.

And they're now rapidly approaching retirement. Something like 90% of GS15s and SESers are going to retire in the next 8-10 years, and there's enormous amount of turnover at the GS-12 to -14 levels (mid-career govies bolting for consulting $$$ and thinking that once they build a nest egg they can jump back in at a higher GS level and make it to retirement with lifetime health insurance).

Those are jobs with major impact (for the next 30 years, of not well beyond) that are pretty much going to be open and ripe for the taking. I really wish young Conservatives would recognize and take advantage of this. Yeah, Conservatives aren't supposed to like big government and often disdain government service, but given the shear volume of openings there's a golden opportunity for them to get in and reshape government into something along the lines of what we believe in.

[Gabz]

I noticed it was published in an education journal of some sort, which explains the title.

There's nothing wrong with the title. In body of the work he specifically says he is going to give bad advice.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Number three should be required reading for all the college-age Obama groupies. ;)

[Nevadan]

re: It so accurately sums up all the deep thinkers out there who are going to do Something Big, rather than doing a good job on the tasks at hand.

Reminds me of the following quote by Longfellow:
“Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions.”