Remember when we had a truly remarkable, beautiful, gracious, powerful First Lady? Remember when a First Lady did more that watch the veggies grow? Remember when it was vogue for a First Lady to get involved in making women’s lives better?
Laura Bush finally had her turn at bat as a commencement speaker at SMU. When she began her speech, she said that she could not remember who gave the commencement speech when she received her master’s degree in 1977, so she looked it up. Evidently her future father-in-law did not make much of an impression on her!
“…Because she couldn’t remember the keynote speaker at her master’s degree ceremony at the University of Texas at Austin in 1977, she looked it up.
“You can imagine my surprise when I discovered it was George Bush,” she said, referring to the father, not the son.
The audience erupted in laughter.
Bush spoke of her experiences, and lessons learned, at SMU.
“They will be influential for the rest of your life,” she said.
But service, Bush said, is a key to success. Bush is a lifelong advocate for education. When former President George W. Bush began his term, Laura Bush, working with Congress, spearheaded the first National Book Festival and serves as an honorary ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade.
Bush commended SMU students for embracing four degree candidates who had transferred to SMU after escaping Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
“You won’t waste your talent and education if you use them in service to others,” she said….”
Service is something freely given. It is an honor, something special, not required of others. Contrast this with the current First Lady. The two women are advocating something of the same thing, helping people. The difference is the call for “giving back” is something almost mandated from the Obamas. It is something that is an honor to do, if you listen to Laura Bush. If you do not give “service” because it is in your heart, then it is conscription plain and simple. It reminds me of the story of the Widow’s Mite.
The Michelle O version is almost a guilt drip. Forcing a person to give back in exchange for the good things in life is not “service”. And – it isn’t giving. Giving is something freely and happily done to willingly help others, not for wealth, riches, or praise, but to do something to help others.
“…“So, whenever you get ready to give up, think about all of these people and remember that you are blessed. Remember that you are blessed. Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give something back,” she said. “You must reach back and pull someone up. You must bend down and let someone else stand on your shoulders so that they can see a brighter future.”…”
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