Andre De Shields
Spring 2007 Commencement Address
(Sung)
“When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars.
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Age of Aquarius, Aquarius, Aquarius!”
(Lyrics from “Aquarius” by Gerome Ragni and James Rado)
Good afternoon, my friends! My name is André De Shields. I am a recovering Humanist, an unreconstructed Hippie and a graduate of this great university. And as such, I have inherited the responsibility of delivering the Charge to the Graduates. I have been asked to provide you with “insight, perspective and challenge” as you contemplate your lives beyond the university. I can see that you all are waiting for these pearls of wisdom to drip from lips, or is that fear of the imminent future that has brought you to the edges of your seats? But let’s be real. Once you have experienced a single snowbound winter in Madison, Wisconsin, caught between those white-knuckle crosswinds that blow off of Lake Monona and Lake Mendota, what could possibly frighten you? So here we are, girded in our full commencement armor, ready to take on the world; so I’m going to cut right to the chase.
The good news is that we who are fortunate enough to be living in this unprecedented time—the third millennium, the 21st century, on the very threshold of the Age of Aquarius—have within our reach the opportunity to manifest an awareness, the power of which has not been experienced since man first discovered fire. The opportunity, I say, is within our reach, but we must take hold of it. After all, “A man’s reach must exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” That’s not André De Shields. That’s the 19th century British poet Robert Browning.
And what is this awareness? It is a great awakening, a tremendous transformation of consciousness which proclaims that humankind is not hopelessly lost. We are not bent on a path of irrevocable self-destruction. On the contrary. Humankind can and must heal itself. The planet Earth—which is a sentient being--knows this better than any of us. And that is why it is going through its changes in preparation for embracing this new awareness. And you, the 2007 graduating class, have been chosen as the vanguard of this new consciousness. That is your challenge.
Now, check this out. The better news is that for more than 5,000 years we have known that there is something sacred, we have known that there is something holy, we have known that there is something eternal about our relationship with this vast and multifaceted universe that we live in. In truth, we are the universe in miniature. As the universe expands, so do we. As the universe contracts, so do we. We also know that the modalities that we have designed in order to coexist with the universe have not always been the best that we can produce.
The protocols, the conditions, the agreements have too often been despotic, tyrannical, even murderous., yet we have come to understand that the belief system of “me” and “mine” is limited. It is confounding. It is fundamentally dysfunctional. I call it deceptive intelligence.
Now we are awakening to a belief system that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things. We are beginning to realize the inherent unity in our richly diverse world. And by doing so we are discovering unlimited power, infinite potential and profound purpose, not in some distant utopia or the revision of an old system, but now. The transformation is happening now; the consciousness is changing now; the great awakening is taking place now. I call that creative intelligence. That is the insight.
Winston Churchill once defined the history of humanity as “one damn thing after another.” Now, wouldn’t you like to be remembered as the generation who removed from that definition the sense of tedium, the patina of drudgery, and the aura of boredom and predictability? Aren’t you graduating now in order to insure that the transition from the Age of Pisces — with its patriarchy, with its patrimony, with its jingoism and xenophobia, with its rule of science and commerce, with its unbridled avarice and relentless materialism — gives way to a peaceful transition to the Age of Aquarius, with its “harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding, no more falsehood or derision, golden living dreams of vision, mystic crystal revelation and the mind’s true liberation?” (Lyrics from “Aquarius” by Gerome Ragni and James Rado)
“Well, Mr. De Shields,” I can hear you thinking to yourselves, “you’ve set quite a steep course for us.” Yes, I have. I also have saved the best news for last. The course is indeed steep – no doubt about it — but it is not impossible. It’s not without its obstacles. It’s definitely more easily proclaimed than it is achieved. But may I remind you of the wise words of that great philosopher – that great prophet from the 1970’s — Mick Jagger, who said:
(Sung)
“You can’t always get what you want. You can’t always get what you want. No, you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need.”
(The Rolling Stones)
Let’s not kid ourselves. The very fact that you are sitting here today means that you are up to the challenge. The very fact that you have responded to the charge means that somewhere, at some time you have had a glimpse of this insight — in a dream perhaps, in an epiphany perhaps, or maybe in something as ordinary as a conversation with one of your friends. The very fact that you are graduating means that this new global perspective is not alien to you.
The charge is this: As you contemplate your lives beyond the university, as you embark upon your journeys of becoming—what?—astronauts, biochemists, artists, teachers, parents, politicians, environmentalists, computer wizards, green architects, New Age avatars, Wal-Mart managers, world citizens of all sorts—we charge you to keep close to your hearts the idea that an essential event is about to happen. We are on the cusp of a great awakening, a tremendous transformation of consciousness, the light of which shall be so exquisite as to be almost unbearable – and you are the children of that light. No, I think you’re better than that. You are the bearers of that light.
Gimme a beat, my friends!
(Hand claps)
(Sung)
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Oh, this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Hallelujah! This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”
(Traditional Negro Spiritual)
Namasté! On Wisconsin! Thank you!
Andre De Shields is Broadway actor who has also appeared in film and TV productions, including “Law and Order” and “Sex in the City.” He won an Emmy for his performance in “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” He received a B.A. degree in English and creative writing from UW-Madison in 1970 and an honorary degree from the university in 2004.