Rachel Maddow gave the commencement speech yesterday at Smith College. Likely or not, the speech had to do with "Bar Room Smasher" Carrie Nation, a hatchet-wielding enemy of alcohol. Maddow's remarks include mention of government officials snorting meth off a toaster, where drinks with orange juice come from, the AMC Gremlin and the KFC Double Down sandwich. Maddow started by noting that Carrie Nation achieved her dreams, and America suffered through 13 years of fatal, stupid Prohibition as a result.
"Some dreams are bad dreams. . . . Hopefully life is long. Do stuff you will enjoy thinking about and telling stories about for many years to come. Do stuff you will want to brag about."
And this:
"Gunning not just for personal triumph for yourself but for durable achievement to be proud of for life is the difference between winning things and leadership. It is the difference between nationalism and patriotism. It is the difference between running for office and devoting yourself to public service. It's agreeing that you are part of something, taking as your baseline that you will not seek to reach your own goals by stepping on the neck of your community."
If you have trouble with the video player above, you can find the full speech, not embeddable, here. While you're there, make sure you see the Barbie story -- it's after the videos.