August 12, 1969
Page 23552
VALEDICTORY ADDRESS AT THE FOXCROFT SCHOOL
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, earlier this summer I had the privilege of speaking to the graduating class at the Foxcroft School, in Middleburg, Va. The valedictorian of the class, Miss Lisa Thomen of Asheville, N.C., gave a brief but noteworthy address to her classmates on the meaning of freedom.
Miss Thomen's remarks had a special relevance for me. I ask unanimous consent that they be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the valedictory address was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
VALEDICTORY ADDRESS BY LISA THOMEN
"Freedom is a word I rarely use without thinking." This is a line from one of Donavan's songs.
Our generation today talks a lot about freedom and certainly this is true of Foxcroft. Every girl here is hoping that this talk will be short so that they may attain the freedom they have been waiting for all year.
What do we mean by freedom? What do we expect? I asked some girls for ideas and one said that she wanted to get out in order to be away from the petty rules and restrictions of school.
Another said she wanted to be free from people planning her days, such as requiring meals or even requiring classes. To be free from responsibility was another answer. And naturally – large numbers wanted to see members of the opposite sex. The word freedom here can mean the right to do so many little things. Do we want to smoke? Yes! Do We want to drink? Yes! Do we want to date? Without a doubt. We feel that these are our rights.
But in all of these different ideas there is a similarity. We all want to be able to do whatever we want whenever we want. We want to satisfy our somewhat hedonistic fancies whenever they appear. Our conception of freedom, therefore, is purely selfish. Our generation's rebellion against any form of authority is an extension of this.
Yet with any right comes responsibility. When we are in college, the social rights such as smoking and dating and in general being free agents will be realized. But as we get older, larger rights will be ours, yet they, because of their significance in society imply a certain responsibility.
For example, we all wanted a driver's license. Anyone who went to Driver's Education or had a friendly back seat parental driver knows that you watch out not only for your own car, but everyone else's. Any person over the age of 18 can get married, but they then have the responsibility of caring and providing for their children. And finally in a couple of years we will all have the right to vote – but that certainly involves the responsibility of giving the candidates your best consideration and making the best possible choice.
In all of these areas, the consequence of not assuming responsibility can be detrimental not only to one's self, but the whole of society.
We all have personal responsibilities too, however. Foxcroft has equipped us all with an education – granted some more, some less. But we all certainly have the intellectual potential to accept the opportunities that freedom allows us. It is each person's responsibility then to respond when an opportunity is present. Not only in self-indulgence, for today's world is full of vast discrepancies in wealth, advantages and people. People all over the world are starving, we are free to and should respond to this. We are given the chance to get a better education at college, again we are free to and should respond. Each person should have enough self-respect to develop that which is best in him.
So with the word freedom comes the idea of responding to need. If there is a need and we have freedom, then we should help others. If we instead use freedom to hurt others, then this is not freedom, this is license.
We realize that our education is still incomplete but we realize nonetheless that at least the foundations have been laid. Foxcroft has tried to make us aware of the opportunities and responsibilities of freedom in society.
"Freedom is a word I rarely use without thinking."
We, too, should think.