Remnick rejected the traditional graduation speech dodge where elders apologize for messing up the world and then hand off responsibility while heading to retirement. Instead, he framed the diploma as an induction into active citizenship. The rate at which the world advances depends not on inevitability but on human effort, and as of graduation day, that effort now includes the class of 2014. He demanded both vision — the ability to see what's wrong — and action, the willingness to use their hands and backs to right those wrongs.