The Left doesn’t get it – again

What is a commencement speech? What is its point? I was always under the impression that it server two purposes, first to give credit to those graduating for the hard work they have performed to get to that point and to give them direction as they go forth to make their mark on this world. According to the Left it seems the purpose is to bash the Bush administration.

As we go through this season of graduations there is story after story of commencement speakers grandstanding over their opposition to the Bush administration. On of the worst examples is that of Author E.L. Doctorow, who gave the commencement address at Hofstra University.

In a 20-minute address to graduates at the Long Island school on Sunday, the novelist criticized Bush's tax cuts, anti-terrorism policies and the Patriot Act, but focused mainly on what he called Bush's "untrue" stories about the war in Iraq

That is not a commencement speech that is a political speech. If you want to use the part of the speech where you charge the youth graduating with the responsibility of leadership to espouse Leftists ideas that's fine but spending your time berating the current White House administration does not cut it. The graduating class at Hofstra agrees with me as, "...a torrent of boos and catcalls that forced Doctorow to stop talking."

Doctorow response?

"I thought we were all supposed to speak out," he told The Washington Post in Tuesday's editions. "Isn't that what this country is about?"

The good author sees nothing wrong with using a commencement speech as a political soap box, which he can "speak out" against what he feels is wrong with America. But in a great feat of hypocrisy while he has the right to bash politics that he doesn't agree with – during a commencement speech no less – that it's wrong for those who disagree with him to speak out. Like many in the Left today that feel they can say whatever they want while any voice of opposition can be classified, or rather demonized as "hate speech", "racism", "censorship" etc.

The Left is intellectually bankrupt and this is just another example.