The philosopher, Nobel laureate, and writer Albert Camus, who at great personal risk established himself as a critical voice of the Resistance in Nazi-occupied France, captured the essence of this form of flourishing and endurance in The Myth of Sisyphus, written in the early years of the Second World War.Īs our Classics majors know, Sisyphus is the Greek mythological figure who was condemned for all eternity to push a boulder uphill each day, only to have it roll back at sunset. The decisions they made and the actions they took gave enduring shape and substance to their lives. Their lives were defined by those years.ĭespite truly horrific conditions, many in that generation managed not only to survive these years, but used this time to become who they were meant to be. Yet, as I think back to the lessons of the past, gleaned particularly from the stories of my grandparents and their friends, it is clear that their lives were not put on pause during the dark war years. In this setting, it would be natural for you, the Class of 2020, to view this time as a protracted pause between college and the next chapter in your life. Johns Hopkins celebrates graduates today with a one-of-a-kind webcast featuring notable alumni, surprise guest appearances, and special performances So, it is not surprising that many people, perhaps you, or those you love, are experiencing high levels of despair, while many more are living in a state of suspended animation, anxiously awaiting a return to normalcy. We find ourselves asking: Will this be a discrete event or is it the beginning of an extended era of our lives? The COVID pandemic is different from these other moments in history, but there is no doubt that we are confronting a significant human tragedy and a convulsive societal shock whose ending is as yet largely unknown. They had watched the Nazis march across Europe, unleashing a protracted and devastating global cataclysm that shattered the modern world. I also, like so many of you, experienced 9/11 and the harrowing weeks and months immediately following, when it seemed as though rogue attacks and the fear that accompanies them might become-in the overused term of our moment-the new normal.īut, in truth, I have always felt my parents' and grandparents' generations understood far better than I do what it means to live in terrifying and uncertain times. I was born during the Cold War, and was well acquainted with its bone chilling lexicon of terms like "mutually assured destruction" and "nuclear winter." My lifetime has been punctuated by a few of these moments. Indeed, one can hardly anticipate how exactly things will unfold in fraught and uncertain moments like this one. I have to confess: when we went online in March, it was hard for me to imagine that we wouldn't be back in short order. And it is a particularly poignant sentiment now. Of our vulnerability to circumstances beyond our control. It is a statement of the wry capriciousness of life. There is a Yiddish aphorism that my late father shared with me when he first learned he had just a few months of life ahead of him: "Mann tracht, un Gott lacht." Instead, in the space of a few short months, reality has changed dramatically. Today was also supposed to be the closing of one great chapter of your life and the beginning of another, as you prepared to start challenging jobs, coveted internships and research opportunities, or stimulating graduate and professional degrees, in an economy that was firing on all cylinders. Of course, this is just one of many disappointments we are all facing in this time of COVID. It is a void that no amount of Zooming can possibly fill. So, please, if you remember just one thing from this day, remember this: Your professors and I are bereft without you, and have been since we went virtual. The bottom line is: We're not together in the way we hoped to be. Partying with your friends rather than relying on your parents to rally for a rousing game of "Virtual Commencement bingo" during these. A culmination of four years spent toiling-and caffeinating-and toiling again in Brody. The Royal Farms Arena instead of your living room. Still, let's face it: I know how much you were holding out for something different for your Commencement. It's good to know that a global pandemic doesn't change everything.
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