The Republic is Now Yours
A Commencement Address
It is commencement season, and every news feed is currently saturated with the standard fare: celebrities, corporate titans, and political influencers standing at podiums, telling graduates to 'follow their passion' or 'change the world' while offering little more than polished platitudes. Most of these addresses are designed to be forgotten the moment the music stops. But there is a different kind of address that these graduates need to hear - one that isn’t meant to be popular but is absolutely necessary. This is the commencement speech they aren’t going to get from the mainstream, and perhaps the one that matters most: a call to arms for the only title that actually counts - citizen.
Graduates,
Before anything else, a quick warning:
Be careful taking life advice from people whom you’d never ask their opinion in the first place. And be cautious about advice from people with whom you have nothing in common, which includes celebrities, social media influencers, and anyone whose life looks nothing like yours.
They don’t deal with your problems, they don’t have your choices, and they don’t live with your consequences.
So, filter honestly, aggressively, and intentionally.
Yes, you’ve graduated and now you are entering the next major phase of your lives… maybe that’s college, or trade school, or straight into the job market if you’ve graduated from high school.
Or maybe, it’s graduate school or medical school if you’ve just received your bachelor’s degree.
Or maybe, it’s something else entirely.
The point is, that you’re taking the next step in your life and there is something you should be paying close attention to, because it’s going to impact your lives more than just about anything else.
And it’s something that generations before you mostly ignored and took for granted…but now, it must be addressed because we’re at a critical phase of our country’s history. Will we continue as we have before, or will we do something different.
And at this point, you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about, so I’ll tell you.
It’s our American republic. You’re stepping out into the world in a rare situation, globally speaking.
Most people in history didn’t get a say in how they were governed.
But we do and you do.
But there’s a catch:
It only works if you act like it matters.
What does that mean?
It means getting involved. Get involved locally, regionally, federally – it doesn’t matter – just get involved. Volunteer, get elected to the local school board, city council, or a local community organization – where an “average person” has the most immediate impact.
Our American system was built on a risky idea – that regular people, like us, can govern ourselves.
Not professional experts.
Not professional politicians.
And certainly not celebrities, professional athletes, or the loudest influencer voices on the internet.
But you and I and every other average American citizen.
As Benjamin Franklin supposedly replied when asked what kind of government had been created: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
And I have some difficult news for you: that responsibility doesn’t start when you’re ‘ready.’ It doesn’t start when you’re older or established. It started the moment you received your diploma. Because, right now, there is an entire ecosystem of influencers, algorithms, and talking heads – all fighting to think for you.
They all want the same thing:
Your agreement without your scrutiny.
They’ll tell you what to believe.
Who to blame.
What side you’re on.
And if you’re not careful, you’ll hand over your judgment without realizing it.
That’s how it happens.
Not through force.
Through convenience.
It’s easier to pick a side than to think.
Easier to repeat than to question.
Easier to belong than to stand alone.
But the moment you stop questioning - you’re not thinking anymore.
You’re following.
And a country full of followers can’t stay free very long.
So, draw a line now and hold it forever.
You don’t belong to a party.
You don’t belong to a tribe.
You don’t outsource your thinking.
Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson who once wrote, “He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
You can have opinions. Strong ones.
But hold them like an adult – meaning you’re willing to question them.
Because parties will change.
They always do.
Principles don’t.
Free speech isn’t partisan.
Due process isn’t partisan.
Equal treatment under the law isn’t partisan.
These are not “talking points.”
They are the rules that keep power in check.
And they only work if you defend them, even when it’s inconvenient, even when the folks you typically agree with are the ones violating them.
Especially then.
If you want to take this seriously, do more than vote and tune out.
Know how things work.
As Jeffferson once said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
So, what does that mean?
It means know who represents you, what they’re doing, and what’s being done in your name.
And when something’s off - say something.
Not just when it’s easy.
Not just when it’s popular.
The biggest threat to this system isn’t disagreement.
It’s blind loyalty.
The danger isn’t government necessarily; it’s the citizens who will excuse anything - as long as their “team” is doing it.
Don’t be that person.
Be the one who can say:
“That’s right,” when the other side gets it right.
“That’s wrong,” when your side gets it wrong.
That’s extremely rare, but it shouldn’t be.
And it matters more than you think.
Because the future of this country isn’t decided by perfect people.
It’s decided by ordinary people who either pay attention – or they don’t.
Who either think for themselves – or they don’t.
Who either take responsibility for their own lives and actions – or they don’t.
Thomas Paine once wrote, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”
So, remember that and know that at some point in the future, you’re going to hand this country off to the next group.
And they’re going to live with what you tolerated.
What you ignored.
What you defended.
What you allowed to slide.
That’s going to be your legacy.
Not your job title.
Not your income.
Not your follower count.
Your legacy will be what you leave behind.
My generation has spent years arguing about who broke things.
You have a better option: Fix what you can.
Not with outrage.
Not with slogans.
Not by picking a side and shutting your brain off.
But by being harder to manipulate.
Read more than headlines.
Ask better questions.
Challenge what you hear.
Even when it’s uncomfortable.
Even when it costs you socially.
Especially then.
Don’t ask, “What am I supposed to think?”
Ask, “Is it true?”
Don’t ask, “Will this make me fit in?”
Ask, “Is it right?”
That’s how you stay free.
That’s how this works.
Congratulations.
You have inherited something extremely rare and precious.
A republic.
As Franklin warned, it can only survive if it’s citizens can keep it.
So, keep it.
And when your time comes to hand it to the next generation, leave it stronger than you received it.
In Liberty,
Gary Mullins (Libertas)