Advice to graduates: don’t become the old gay judge

Jon Lovett, a 30-year-old speech writer for Barack Obama, gave such a side-splitting and inspiring commencement speech at Pitzer College that the video seems to be showing up on every other student’s Facebook page. There’s plenty to laugh about but the best part is arguably the introduction where students are asked to picture an old gay judge. There’s also practical advice. “One of the greatest threats we face is bullsh*t,” he says. “We are drowning in partisan rhetoric that is just true enough not to be a lie, in industry-sponsored research, in social media’s imitation of human connection, in legalese and corporate double speak. It infects every facet of public life.”