“I would like all of you whatever degree you have received — to be honorary doctors of humanity. I would like you to join in creating an America of the Heart, an America free of racism, hunger, and despair.”
Our Quote of the Week is an invitation for all of us to join in creating what Sargent Shriver calls an “America of the heart,” a place in which humanity is nurtured, and the systemic causes of racism, poverty, and injustice are eradicated.
In his 1964 Providence College Commencement, Sargent Shriver emphasized to his audience of graduates that they were about to join the flow of history, and that they had the power to shape the future of the country. Drawing on the examples of the international work of Peace Corps volunteers, and citing the plans and ambitions for the new War on Poverty efforts at home, Shriver stresses the importance of service to his young audience, and asks them, regardless of the degree that they have received, to be “doctors of humanity”.
What does it mean to be doctors of humanity? It means that we must move through our days with curiosity, with open hearts and open minds. We must be mindful of the struggles of others, we must take whatever steps we can to remove those struggles, and we must celebrate and uplift the things that connect all of us as human beings.
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