(Editor's note: Jordan Gruber is Grove City High School's Class of 2009 valedictorian. He has requested - due to the controversy surrounding his right to address his class at graduation and the amount of interest in the content of his commencement speech - that Allied News publish his speech for public access. It follows.)
Well, those of you that know me, know I would really rather be out fishing right now. OK, seriously, I feel very blessed and indeed I am very blessed to be standing before you and speaking tonight as your 2009 valedictorian. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who came to the May 11 school board meeting with me and signed the petition.
After that meeting as I was going home, I realized something humbling: I realized that everyone was expecting a really amazing and profound speech from me after all that we went through to get one! Then I realized that I would have to miss out on more fishing to prepare a speech. Originally, my plan was to come up here and adlib - obviously I have changed plans.
Class of 2009, as I was preparing this speech I was trying to think of all the things we have in common. That is hard when I don't even know the names of all of you that are graduating. I wish I had had the time to get to know each of you well. As I was reading a speech by Harold Ickes, I had an epiphany: I realized that I already know who you are, you are Americans. I don't need to know every name because I know that you are Americans and that will always be enough. I realized something else, though. I realized that it is not as cool as it once was to be an American. In our Grove City culture, it is cool to text in school, to tell "your mom" jokes, to send bumper stickers on FaceBook, cheat on warm-up laps in gym class, and to keep overdue library books so that your parents do not get your report card; but for some reason in our culture it is simply no longer cool to be an American.
I think that there are two reasons for that. First, being an American is a privilege that has been granted to us, not something earned by us. I thank God that our forefathers thought it worth their lives to make us Americans. This was their dream that we, their children, would be born free and can live free. We were born members of the greatest social experiment of all time: A government of the people by the people and for the people. Let us live up to our forefathers' dream.
Secondly, I think that we forget what it means to be Americans. In a speech titled "What is an American?", Harold Ickes describes an American as follows: "What is an American? Not color nor race nor religion. Not the pedigree of his family nor the place of his birth. Not the coincidence of his citizenship. Not his social status nor his bank account. Not his trade nor his profession. An American is one who loves justice and believes in the dignity of man. An American is one who will fight for his freedom and that of his neighbor. An American is one who will sacrifice property, ease and security in order that he and his children may retain the rights of free men. An American is one in whose heart is engraved the immortal second sentence of the Declaration of Independence."
The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads as follows: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Unfortunately, it is not always easy to be an American. It is not always easy to live up to the greatness for which our forefathers destined us. It is not easy because we are living in dangerous times, the world is turbulent, the economy is unstable, and our futures seem even more uncertain. I would like to read you some headline topics since 1990, the year that most of us graduating seniors were born: The Gulf War. The Oklahoma City bombing. The Centennial Olympic Park bombing. The Columbine High School shooting. President Clinton's impeachment trial and the Lewinsky scandal. The bombing of the USS Cole. Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Hurricane Katrina. The Virginia Tech massacre. Somalian pirates.
At times like these we are called to fulfill the Harold Ickes definition of an American. We are called to live up to the dream for which patriots have died. We are called to protect justice, freedom and truth. At times like these, our forefathers called upon their divine Creator for guidance.
Likewise, I find it wise to seek God's guidance. These past four years, I have looked to Jesus Christ for guidance and already he has led me to this podium today; and He leads me on to the United States Naval Academy. He has blessed me beyond my wildest expectations, and in this room I see 200 other seniors who have been equally blessed with incredible and unique talents, gifts and abilities. I urge you to use your talents for good.
It is a scary time when the Supreme Court is being called upon to decide whether valedictorians should be allowed to refer to their faith during the farewell address. A friend of mine reminded me that the Supreme Court has already declared it legal for students to lead and initiate prayers in school. Therefore, I urge all of you to not forget your liberties. If guidance is what you need, then remember that you need not be alone, and you need not pray in secret.
Before I bid my final farewell, I have to share something horrible and sobering with you. It appears in headlines as well, but often it is underestimated or disguised. I am sharing this with you last so that you might remember it first as you leave and begin your lives: Adolf Hitler was a powerful and awful man. A little known quote of his goes as follows: "Tell a lie often enough, loud enough, and long enough, and the people will believe you." This sort of brainwashing is still just as powerful and active today.
Let me tell you what happened after people believed those false truths. During the six years of World War II, Hitler was responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews. In that same amount of time today, 8.2 million American babies are aborted. I challenge you to question the supposed truths that you have been fed from textbooks, television, Internet and other media.
I challenge you to seek truth.
I challenge you to give all men, even those unborn, the same inalienable rights to life. And I remind you that denial of the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness have been the grounds and justification for wars.
Finally, I ask you: Is it justifiable to take those rights from those who do not have the power to defend their rights?
With no further ado, I wish you all the sincerest congratulations. You did it, Class of 2009. I would like to thank all of you and all of our teachers for truly making high school a rewarding and fun experience. I think that you all have very bright futures.
In the tradition of the Navy, I would like to wish you all fair winds and following seas.
