Khaldoun Makhoul
Thank you Provost…………………………
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Shakespeare. Hamlet; Act 1, Scene 3. Advice from Polonius to his son
before the latter goes off to university. Good advice, and often quoted
I’ll admit, but advice that merits a thought or two in the context of our
graduation and our lives in the present world climate.
Internationalization is redefining what “thine own self” might mean.
As citizens of any nation, we are having to pay attention to one
another more every day in order to define ourselves in relation to
others.
This, of course, is no recent trend. Certainly mathematics, the
sciences, in fact all academic disciplines, are no strangers to
international collaboration or intermingling. Throughout the time I
spent last summer at Fermilab, a physics laboratory outside Chicago, I
heard an average of 6 to 8 languages being spoken around me in the
cafeteria on any given day. The Brazilian physicists had gathered a
(well deserved) reputation for holding the best parties, while the
Italians for some reason knew the best jazz spots in Chicago. There
was no feeling that any single nationality was more at home than the
rest. In fact, as far back in history as we can reach, we see
international contributions to science. Just opening any math or
physics book can feel like a world guide, with names like Schrodinger
(Germany), Fourier or Lagrange (France), Fibonacci (Italy), or Omar
Khayyam (Persia).
However, lately, we have shrunk away from the international
community, either because of fear, or doubt, or confusion. I fear the
day when in advanced mathematics, Fourier transforms are no longer
Fourier transforms but rather Freedom transforms. Let us remember
that science itself does not discriminate. Dr. Kraus’s physics
homework despises all of us, and wants us all to suffer. Antibiotics
don’t care where you’re from. Oil spills will gladly destroy wildlife in
any part of the world. And neutrinos don’t care about your politics.
Actually, neither do I. Whatever we believe or support, it should be
clear to us, at least because of the value we have placed on critical
thinking, the scientific method, and truth throughout our education,
whether we continue on to scientific endeavor later or not—it should
be clear that the decisions we make must and will always rest on the
evidence we see, and that whatever actions we take, we take with the
realization of the responsibility those actions carry.
I speak Arabic, French and English. I stand in front of you to tell you
that the words “I love you” sound just as sweet in all three languages.
The word “hate” stings in all three languages. The word “death”
strikes fear in all three languages. The words “world responsibility,”
“mass destruction,” or “war” weigh heavy on the tongue no matter
which language you use to put them there. What we all have in
common is far greater than what separates us. Whatever current
events are happening around us then, we must not let them make us
forget that we are all equally human. As Americans, and I speak also
for my fellow international students who I know have a part of
America in them now, as I do, we cannot let the world think that we
are reckless, or that we do not think, or that we do not value one
another.
America, “to thyself be true;” remember the openness from which you
thrived as a child. Remember what brought you your success.
Remember the responsibility you carry. And let not the world think
that you are a nation of intolerance, because you are not at heart, a
nation of fear, or violence, or fanaticism, but a nation of hope, peace
and reason.
For fear of running out of my own words, I turn now to those of
Lebanese author Amin Maalouf, well known for this book Leo
Africanus. In it, he writes of a character who truly existed in the late
1400 and early 1500’s. Hassan Wazzan, or Leon, lived in Granada in
1492, when it fell from the Arabs to the Spanish after 8 centuries. He
was in Cairo when it was invaded by the Turks. He was an
ambassador for Califs, a merchant under Sultans, and finally a
translator, ambassador and personal friend of the Pope in his later
years. A man of East, of West, of learning and passion, he speaks to
his son at the end of the book, in eloquence I’ll not try to surpass but
rather quote to you here:
“Once more my son, I am carried by this sea, witness to all my
wanderings, and that today carries you to your first exile. In Rome,
you were the son of Africa; in Africa, you will be the son of Europe.
Wherever you are, some will want to validate your skin and your
thoughts. Be wary my son; do not yield to the multitude! Muslim, Jew,
or Christian, they will have to take you as you are, or otherwise lose
you. When the spirits of men seem narrow, remember that the land of
Earth is vast, and vast its hands, and vast its heart. Never hesitate to
depart, beyond all seas, beyond all frontiers, beyond all homelands,
beyond all beliefs.”
Mom, dad, you have said these words to me and a thousand more in
your eyes, your love, and your unending support for me. I hope to one
day live up to one tenth the example you have set for me. My dear
brothers, listen well; you are my joy. I love you.
Everyone, in the class of 2003 congratulations on this important day,
thank you for lending me your ears, and please – Be True To Yourself.