You're Not Special?

In an age when news organizations often tell us what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear, this speech was a bombshell.   The trophy business may not like what Wellesley, Massachusetts High School teacher David McCullough had to say at the school's graduation ceremony.  News flash: We're not special just because we were put on this planet.   His candid comments have caused quite a stir, mostly because they so richly deserved to be said.    Just ask a school administrator or a police officer when parents say, "My Johnny wouldn't do that", "Why are you picking on my child?" or "Give my kid a break."   Children have learned from their parents and millions of marketing messages to ask "what's in it for me?"    This sense of entitlement isn't a rich versus poor, white versus black, American versus foreigner or even conservative versus liberal issue.   We need to reward character and achievement.   Enough with all the excessive awards and trophies.   Everyone's not a winner - certainly not all the time, and that's as it should be.  If everyone's special, nobody is.  Here is the full text of Mr. McCullough's speech.     It's worth reading!