Knowledge, Exploration, Leadership, and Service

5 IN THE SEQUENCE OF MANKIND. OTHERWISE, OUR MARBLE, OUR STAINLESS STEEL, AND OUR RIVETED ALUMINUM WILL ONLY SERVE TO CAST DULL SHADOWS OVER AN ERA THAT COULD HAVE BEEN. A DEMOCRACY MUST BE FOUNDED ON THE WORTH OF THE INDIVIDUAL. A DEMOCRACY MUST BE PRESERVED BY THE INDIVIDUAL'S PROVIDING NOURISHMENT TO THE MASSES. AND A DEMOCRACY WILL ENDURE WHEN IT PRODUCES ENLIGHTENED MASSES WHO CAN SERVE AS ITS JURORS. WE MUST SHAPE A SOCIETY THAT WILL MAKE POSSIBLE ANOTHER THOMAS JEFFERSON, AND BE ASSURED THAT HE WOULD BE RECOGNIZED. THAT IS, "THE AGE OF THE AMERICANS" MUST PROMOTE THE AQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE; AND THIS AGE MUST PROVIDE LEADERSHIP BY THE WISEST; AND THIS AGE MUST ACCOMMODATE AND REWARD COURAGE. WITH THE CHALLENGES OF FOOD AND ENERGY SHORTAGES, THE SEEMINGLY IRRESOLVABLE UNCERTAINTIES INHERENT IN ECONOMIC AND NUCLEAR WARS, THE DESTRUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTS AND ECOSYSTEMS, AND A NATIONAL INDEBTEDNESS OF MORE THAN A TRILLION DOLLARS, OUR SOCIETY NEEDS MORE THAN MERE BUREAUCRATIC AND GENERIC IDEAS WITHOUT LABELS. ONLY KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM CAN COPE WITH AN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY SO TUNED TO OIL THAT A DROP OF ONE SINGLE DOLLAR PER BARREL OF IMPORTED OIL MEANS BETWEEN 5.5 AND 6 BILLION DOLLARS OF PURCHASING POWER. INDEED, AN EFFECTIVE NATIONAL DEFENSE OF THESE UNITED STATES IS DEPENDENT UPON A REGULAR FLOW OF ABLE LEADERS FROM UNIVERSITIES SUCH AS THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AND THIS GRADUATING CLASS