George Saunders

In this graduation commencement, George Saunders shared some important experiences throughout his life to grasp the attention from the student body to not regret kindness. The reasoning of him sharing these experiences throughout his life was to try and influence the graduating class of 2013 at Syracuse University, to become a better person and be kind to others. Now although it is true that everyone is stated to their own opinion, I feel the need to state mine as if it is a fact. We live in a world filled with corruption and hatred. After reading Saunders’s speech, the first thing that went through my head was “FINALLY!” and the reason why is because I am tired of seeing people being taken for granted and treated wrong. Saunders is simply trying to argue that people need to be kind to others. But it is easier to say “Be kind” rather than actually being kind. With all this being said, Saunders’s speech is extremely effective because it’s true, we need to become a kinder generation rather than being rude or obnoxious to other people. With all the experiences that George Saunders has shared in his speech, it is time we share what was said and make a difference within the world. Be kind to others as you would want others to be kind to you.

Pope’s Speech

The Pope called attention to the issue of community responsibility by stating “Each son and daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility.” This stood out to me the most because what he said is very well true. Everyone in this world has a responsibility, whether it is to work in the workforce or manage a business. Congress’s responsibility is that they are the face of this nation. There is not a single person in this world that does not have a responsibility in this world. So when The Pope said what he said, it points us in the direction that responsibility in the community needs to be visualized as an important characteristic within people.

Another topic that The Pope had mentioned in his speech was violence. The Pope brings up this topic by saying, “Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities.” This topic stood out to me the most because it has to do with the biggest problem in this world, violence. There is always an event occurring on the news that has to do with violence and crimes and it has gotten worse and worse and somehow we have no control of it. No matter what we do, some people in this world will do the craziest things just to gain attention from the world.

Mark Berman on The Washington Post criticized The Pope’s comments about the death penalty in the US by stating all the facts about the penalty. Mark stated that the four Supreme Court Justices were sitting in front of Francis Pope when he said that the practice of the death penalty was “inhumane” and “unacceptable” regardless of the crime. Francis Pope also wrote a letter to the International Commission saying, “It is an offense to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person which contradicts God’s plan for man and for society and his merciful justice, and it fails to conform to any just purpose of punishment.” With that being said, it is obvious that Francis Pope is disgusted by the practice of the death penalty. Berman continues bashing on the quotes that Francis Pope stated in his speech by stating facts of the death penalty. In my opinion, I believe that the death penalty is acceptable because it shows the world how valuable life is and how fast it can be taken away from unacceptable behavior.