Useyour talents, be honest, utilize your intellect, be a nice guy, seek knowledge, read books, learn in-depth and believe in and trust God. This is the core of the message that world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson delivered to an audience in Webster Hall this past Saturday evening. If you weren't there to hear this motivating and inspiring speaker, you missed an incredible opportunity to listen to a very sincere and wise gentleman. You also missed out on some good advice.
Exhortations such as "use your talents" or "be a nice guy" may seem like empty truisms, but don't forget that one of the main features of truisms is that they are true. And like all true statements, they can also be a bit dangerous and unsettling. When faced with truth, we can humbly let it change us or vainly attempt to deny it. Dr. Carson did not come up with these guidelines for living on his own, nor does he claim to have done so. What makes him such a dynamic and real individual then, is that he has laid claim to these principles and made them his own by actually attempting to live them.
There are many men and women who have done the same and have led beautiful lives, many more than you or I might think there are. They aren't the ones we read about in the newspapers or see on television everyday. Why does it seem as if Dr. Carson's talk was more like a breath of fresh air than a familiar recapitulation of basic principles?
For some sad reason, we are not accustomed by society to look up to persons such as Dr. Carson. As he pointed out on Saturday, there is definitely something wrong when the networks and magazines spend weeks before and after discussing the Academy Awards (or the Oscars) or some other award in sports or entertainment while the Nobel Prizes merit a mere minute or so on the evening newscasts and a small box in the magazines.
One of the most refreshing aspects of Dr. Carson's speech was his clear and unabashed faith in God. For all the cant concerning intellectualism and the insistence on carrying on conversations concerning matters of great importance, this is one topic that is most conspicuously not up for discussion these days. Are we afraid to find fanaticism or irrational beliefs that cannot be discussed or actually end discussion?
One of the most pervasive prejudices on campus is the wholesale dismissal of the legitimacy of religious belief and the continuation of misunderstanding and ignorance concerning religious matters. We casually discuss the merits of pornography or Student Assembly reform, but clam up when conversation turns towards fundamental beliefs that we or others may hold. Are we not capable of better? We should demand more of ourselves and our fellow students.
At Dartmouth, we are in a very privileged position insofar as we are surrounded by seekers and learners who can and do learn a great deal from each other. Let us not be afraid to discuss that which we hold dear and let us not be afraid to lose that which we cling to most tightly. Let us choose for ourselves what we wish to discuss.
Which do you prefer to talk about, the Academy Awards or Plato's Academy?
If you claim the latter, consider this question which Plato records in his "Apology." Socrates poses it to the jurymen during his defense of his life and actions, "Good Sir, you are an Athenian, a citizen of the greatest city with the greatest reputation for both wisdom and power; are you not ashamed of your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation and honours as possible, while you do not care for nor give thought to wisdom or truth, or the best possible state of your soul?"
Good student of Dartmouth College, what is your answer?
