Page 10 - Priorities #10 1999-July

Commencement Speaker
The Honorable Shirley Temple Black
war against Yugoslavia. For the first time in history, NATO does not have approval from the Security Council of the United Nations. It certainly appears that the United Nations has not debated the war, nor has the president taken to the Senate his new commitment to NATO. ...Is the current senatorial silence justified on the facts, or is it an abdication of constitutional duty in some complex, political calculation?
Why is this NATO example important? Because it typifies the sort of national problem that has a direct and profound effect on our lives. Because it typifies how difficult it is to achieve satisfactory answers.
...Achievement springs from moral and spiritual roots, primary fuel for all political and social institutions... We must dig for facts, weigh the moral and practical implications and question our leadership in constructive ways. But by all means, we must learn to hold our elected leaders accountable.
As you go, take along the memory of the good days here - forget the bad ones. And remember my gratitude to have had this chance to wish you well. Good luck and God bless the final graduating class of the 20th century!
Editor’s note:Shirley Temple Black is a fellow of Yale University, a member of the Board of Visitors of Tufts University and has been on the Board of Directors of the Bay Are Educational Television Association. She has been a member of a wide variety of organizations dealing with international policy.
She was US Ambassador to the United Nations, Ghana and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. In the entertainment industry she appeared in over 50 major television productions and on December 30 was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor for her unique contribution to American life and theater.
Currently, Ambassador Black is writing a book about her diplomatic and international service. The above remarks are excerpts from her speech.
Ambassador Black’s granddaughter, Teresa Falaschi, will attend her mother’s and grandfather’s alma mater, Stanford University, in the fall. Teresa’s mother, Susan, is assistant librarian and a member of the Priory faculty.
“Ambassador Black has presented a vision for all of us to emulate. A vision of service to all of humanity - those of the first world and third world; the educated and uneducated; the manager and the laborer; the materially well off and the materially poor. Ambassador Black today has influenced everyone in the world...”
Tim Molak Headmaster
As Henry the Eighth said to each of his wives.....Don’t worry, I won’t keep you long!
This is a time of miraculous progress and stunning opportunity. It also looks like a bumpy ride. Never before in history have things been changing so quickly. Some of us will respond positively in this maelstrom, never losing sight of eternal verities of life such as honor, truth, faith and work. Others of us will become a little confused.
I’ve tried a few shortcuts but two maxims have always worked: Aim high. Andbepreparedto work hard. Try for more than you really think you can accomplish. Risk failure, sure.Butreach! Bettertofall on your face now and then than to fall backward. The harder you work, the luckier you will get.
(A solution to current dilemmas in society) will require more than high aim
and hard work. We need to cut through a welter of propaganda and fact. Learning the truth is not easy.
To demonstrate, let me use an example of something I know something about. It’s NATO. ...As nominal leader of NATO, the United States is sending our men, women and arms in an undeclared
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