Laren’s UCSD commencement address
Laren visited Uganda for the first time in 2003 after attending UCSD for one year. The trip changed the course of his entire life and he never finished his degree. That’s why he was more than a little surprised when UCSD asked him to be the keynote speaker at this year’s graduation.
Below is the full text of Laren’s speech to UCSD’s class of 2010. It’s the copy he spoke from, complete with pauses for dramatic effect but without his spur-of-the-moment improvisations.
UCSD Commencement Speech 2010, delivered by Laren Poole:
Happy Birthday.
Today is your birth day.
For your entire life, you have been in a structured and scheduled routine. You worked for grades and rewards- doing what’s safe, and expected. But today, all that stops. You are reborn and the world is new. It’s time to start living.
You know, it’s funny to me that I am in front of you right now- for a lot of reasons, but, mostly because I’m only 26, and because 7 years ago, I dropped out of this school. Yes, I’m a college dropout. I’m not sure what they want me to say here today- but, when I dropped out -at 19, I thought I knew everything, and clearly- I still kinda think that, or else I wouldn’t have accepted the invitation to speak.
You probably think you know everything too- and if you don’t know it, you’ll google it- on your 4G phone in your pocket and find it. And this is normal to us. We have never really known a world without instant access. We grew up wired to each other; connected, like never before, and this has made the world very small to us. And- the fact that that’s normal is what’s different about us. We are at the beginning of a history in which we all can participate more than has ever been the case in the past, where we can all be responsible for what happens next. Not a clash of civilizations, but acts of individuals. Choose your own adventure. Ordinary people, helping other people, to the best of their abilities because it’s not about where, but more importantly when you were born.
Being alive right now makes us different because we can see the faces of injustice clearer than anyone before us. It’s personal because we are friends with, or at least- Facebook friends with- other young people from around the world. I’m serious. (holding up Jacob’s Facebook profile on phone) This is Jacob. He likes soccer, and lady gaga, and every night, for his entire life, he has been afraid for his life. And whether or not Fox News reports it, we know it. Because we read his status updates.
7 years ago, when I was an engineering major at UCSD, life guarding to pay the bills, and making surf videos on the side, my friend Jason invited me to go on a trip with him to Africa, and it ruined my life. Ruined in the best possible way. I say ruined because everything I was taught to want and to need became infinitely smaller and less significant when I met that 12 year old Ugandan boy named Jacob. He was running for his life because he had escaped a rebel army that was abducting children to fight as its soldiers, forcing them to murder and maim their own family, tribe and friends. When we first went to Northern Uganda in 2003, the world had not yet seen or heard of this war- even though it had been going on for more than 17 years. Meeting, and then really knowing Jacob, and becoming his friend, this war became personal, and we promised him we would end that war. I believe we have done every single thing we were told possible, and almost every single thing we were told impossible to keep our promise to Jacob- from sleeping inside the rebels camp to pushing for the signing of a peace treaty… to meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office to discuss ending this war… but we aren’t done yet. Because right now, today, thousands of kids are still being abducted, murdered and forced to murder by one madman at the center of a child army. But, Invisible Children’s fight is not just about stopping this man and his rebels, or ending one war….well, it is… but it is also about all of us asking ourselves: is my life more valuable than theirs?
Here’s what Hitler did right: he created a universally known example of wrong. He forced the world to make a decision about justice, because it was not possible to be neutral on the issue. Through his diabolical cruelty, he unified the world in defense of inherent human rights for all. Justice by means of community. And I believe that right now, because we are so connected, we are global citizens. Which means our patriotism does not end at our country’s or even our continent’s borders. And because I believe we are ALL entitled to basic human rights, we are responsible for ensuring them for one another. You might be thinking: aren’t there laws in place to keep such a thing from happening again? And the answer appears to be: yes. The members of the United Nations signed the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ act, which mandates the international community to intervene in the most severe human rights abuses, when the local government is unable or unwilling to stop it; BUT… it is failing to follow its self-commissioning. They strategize, and they discuss, but they do nothing. I want to tell you: the system in place is broken because it is moving so slowly that it could be seen as not moving at all. We have reached a point in history where we can see and agree a thing is “wrong” much faster than we are able to stop it.
Yesterday, I returned from a two week trip to the Congo, where the war has now spread, to document the most recent atrocities being committed. But while we were out there, I had the opportunity to stop by the Rwandan genocide museum, where a man named Sergie gave me a personal tour of the memorial. For anyone who is not aware of the Rwandan genocide, it was a mass slaughter of a million innocent lives, where the world didn’t just stand by and watch; we intentionally got un-involved. When the killings began, we actually pulled every NGO, UN and government personnel from the country, right when they were needed the most. Sergie, who was a genocide survivor, told me he does not believe in institutions, only the acts of individuals to bring about change. Justice has become deeply institutionalized, and the people who publicly pursue it- have become paralyzed in the current system. Good intentions are tangled in politics and policies- and while we wait for someone to act, more lives are lost.
So, what does this have to do with you? with us? well… why not, on your birthday today decide to become the someone who acts? I want to let you in on the rumble of the underground. Our generation has learned to go around it. I know this, because I’ve experienced it. Right now, we are shaping human history by closing the divide between resources and responsibility, awareness and action- by taking action on an individual level, charged by the belief that: we will have to answer, even if we are not to blame.
If you don’t know the story of Invisible Children, I want to encourage you to find out. We are the unlikely activists, the never before demanding the never again, in unconventional ways. When we formed our non-profit, 90% of our donations were $20 and under because it was kids over here, raising money for kids over there; and, here’s the thing… when we started invisible children, we knew nothing. But we, (with a lot of help) have accomplished a lot. Our lives were changed, yes, but we have seen change in the lives of thousands of Ugandans, as well as Americans, Europeans, and so on- simply by acting on behalf of someone who is not ourselves. And the key to that formula is: we acted. We built the plane in the air, and because of that- we have had success. It has since been written into our mission statement to remain adaptable. To be willing to change. To fail. To start over. But at least we start. There are others, who knew much more than us before we even began, who have yet to make their move. Paralyzed by their assessments and studies. Afraid. I beg you today to not be that. I beg you to take action: Write that song. Design that Dream. Develop that medicine. Get on that plane. Make your movie. Join the rumble of the underground. Do not just sit on that expensive education you just completed. Do not stay in the company of each other. There is always more to learn. And nothing in your lives so far has prepared you for the world today. But, nothing really can.
Okay, maybe you have some transferable skills from college…like how to survive solely on burritos and beer. I’m still using that one. But, since there will be no more grades to work for, and since this will probably be your last “summer break,” your reasons for working hard need to come from inside you. Push yourself, do what is absolutely necessary, and more. Do what no one else has the guts to do- because you need to be rebellious, to defeat the rebels.
Statistics say that you should be worried….that you are entering a work force neither wanting nor needing you. And, I’m here to say: If there are no jobs waiting for you, good. Make your own jobs. Create new industries. Discover new roads.
Ok, I’ll admit- I DO regret dropping out of college- mostly because it would make my Dad proud, and I don’t like to quit- but I do not regret where my life led me because I believe in a big God who has plans and dreams that are bigger and better than anything I could ever plan or dream. And it is our job to listen, and not be afraid to act. And keep acting. And governments and universities better catch up, or continue to be bypassed by All of us.
Thomas Edison said,”When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this — you haven’t.” And I say: Do not stop at no, but instead, keep looking for a new route to yes. For example, I never thought I’d see a UCSD graduation, but here I am, to finish what I started. And I’m speaking to the me that could have been, saying- the world is waiting. Don’t miss the invitation to join. Congratulations on graduating, and happy birthday.
