Nearly four years ago we posted about this commencement address that we still love for The Chumbawamba Principle it espoused. Until today I could not have recognized any piece of music belonging to Chumbawamba, but now, surprisingly, that has not only changed but I feel richer for it.  In 29 minutes, you might be as well, but if you do not have that many minutes skip to about minute 16 and you will hear one of the most sane, civil, left-versus right discourses I have heard recently, and within a few minutes from that point you can get the gist:

p.s. I still think the Krulwich commencement talk is the best ever, so in case you did not and do not have the time to listen to it, or to read the entire talk, then here is an excerpt of the last few minutes:

…Thirteen-year-olds don’t know that all this is all new, because everything for them is new. But for me, she said, I have to concentrate. And this is The Chumbawamba Principle as practiced by grandmas: This is my mom’s way of saying, “You’re never going to keep me down. Because I’m going to keep learning. I don’t dare not to.”

And this persistence, knowing how to learn, that you can learn, this knowledge will protect you all your life. It will keep you in the game.

But before I conclude, let me remind you that change is not just something you have todo. There are times when change is what you want to do. There will be moments when you see something that feels wrong and you want to make it right, or at least try.

Everybody has such moments. You think, “Hmm. I think I can improve this, make it better. I’m not sure my idea will work,” but you go up to the boss, and you say, “Can I try?” and boss says, “I love your idea, YES! But … ”

Beware that little word … “But …”

“Yes, but we don’t have the time. Yes, but we don’t have the money, Yes, but the audience won’t like it, the voters won’t like it, the client won’t like it, the lawyers won’t like it.” Yes, but. Yes, but, and the “yes” gets softer and the “but” gets louder. And this happens all the time, because despite what they say, people like what they already know. The power of routine is enormous.

And these things can be so trivial. One time, I was about to do my very first piece at the CBS network, I was on the set, sitting on a stool, and all these cameras were gathered around me, and if any of you have listened to Radiolab or other things I’ve done, you’ll know that I don’t talk like a broadcaster. I don’t go down in the voice, I don’t intone. I just sound like myself. Back in 1982, that was unusual. News reporters learned to speak like Walter Cronkite, like Howard K. Smith, you know, from the chest — knowingly, omnisciently. But me, I’m a little nasal.

So here’s what happened. As the floor director fastened the microphone to my lapel (he’d heard me talking, running over my script), he leaned in, very close to my ear, and in an urgent voice he whispered, “Talk from your chest, not from your nose. They don’t do nose here.” He was trying to help me.

But my new idea was: I’m going to talk like me. It’s more honest, natural. And he was saying: “Yes, but don’t. You can’t. You shouldn’t. You mustn’t. They’ll fire you.” And I’m thinking, “Come on … ”

So up go the lights, cameras start to roll, the director flashes “You’re on!” and as I open my mouth, part of me is thinking, “Oh my God, they’re going to hear me and say, ‘Leave!’ ”

So what did I do? I talked … like I talk, the vowels cascaded down through my nose, growing nasalier and nasalier … and out they came … and nothing happened. They didn’t fire me. I survived. But I have had so many of those moments. Big ones, small ones. There are “Yes But” people everywhere you go, everywhere. They never tire. The smallest changes will be resisted. And you have to fight back, all the time.

But here’s the thing. While Yes Buts dominate most institutions most of the time, there are also, everywhere — sometimes off in a corner, sometimes not — Why Not? people, and Give It A Shot people and Just Do It people, and this school has a lot of them. Of course, there are Yes Buts here. Of course there are. As I said, they’re everywhere, but you don’t go to a school like this unless you’re comfortable with taking risks. Many of you are here because you wanted to try a different kind of education, a bolder kind, and you stayed, and there’s a lot of you. (Well, not a whole lot, but in a clump you look kind of formidable.)

And because you’ve lived with people who aren’t as afraid of being a little different, who know how to explore and dream, and you’ve studied with them, been taught by them and made them your friends, by now, you know one when you see one.

You’ll be sitting in a room, saying “How about this idea?” and across the table you will catch just a glint, a little warmth coming your way, maybe just a passing smile. It will be familiar. It will remind you of some of the people you met here, and you’ll know … without knowing how you know, that, “Yeah, she’s going to help me.”

This is very important, crucially important, to notice potential allies — and to recruit them, keep them close and to keep doing that all your life.

They’ve saved me so many times. My partner at Radiolab, Jad Abumrad, when we met, I just knew — in my bones — that with him, doing dangerous things would be a whole lot easier, even, though I should say, just because you’re a Why Not? person doesn’t mean you can’t be, when you want to, a Yes But person. Jad “buts” me all the time, but that’s to make the work better, not to make me go away.

Here’s the point: When you are trying to create a version of yourself that will one day make you happy, half the battle is know your insides — know your pleasures.

And the other half is to know your outsides — to find allies, partners, mentors.

You don’t become yourself by yourself. You become you, boosted on others’ shoulders, buoyed by others’ smiles. You may be a singular person, but your success will always be plural.

And so … about-to-be-graduates of the Class of 2012, ladies and gentlemen, at the College of the Atlantic, it is time now. Time to step up, get your diploma and address the question, “Who am I going to be? How can I design myself so I have a chance at happiness?” You have the advantages of this school. Because you are sitting here, on this campus, at this time, with these teachers and these friends all around you, you now know how to learn, how to persist and how to dream. You’ve gotten the gifts. You’re on your way.

So, to all of you, congratulations — and now get on with it.