Yunus C. Peer
Punahou Baccalaureate
Central Union Church
May 26, 2002.
It is a Small World Afterall.

Good Evening,

That I stand here before you this evening, feeling every bit a part of our extended Punahou family, is testament to the living idea of a common global community. That you would embrace me, the descendant of indentured Indian laborers in South Africa, gives meaning to the concept of the American cultural mosaic. The two places I call “home” – Waimanalo, Hawaii, and Port Shepstone, South Africa, are on exact opposite sides of our planet. I grew up in South Africa falling off mango trees, stuffing my pockets full of guavas, and with my soccer ball, wrecking my mother’s hibuscus and ginger flowers ; just as many of you must have done in Hawaii. I am humbled and honored to share some thoughts with you on this special evening. So thank you ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2002, for the opportunity. It is, a small world, afterall.

As citizens of the world today, we stand at a cultural crossroads. What path will we take in the twenty-first century? Some changes in lifestyles are irretractible and irreversible. Many of these changes impact on the way we interact with one another. The exponential growth in technology and thereby information literacy allows us virtual access to boardrooms and livingrooms in Moscow, Beijing, Johannesburg, Rome and New York. Globalization is here to stay. How we choose to use this technology and information however, will ultimately shape our global household. Whether we call it progress or not, the advancement of technology and the intergration of global culture will transform our lives in ways that neither your parents nor teachers ever imagined. My experience with you in the classroom has suggested that you are already confronting this new world with less alarm, less hesitancy and less doubt than the generations before you.

Mohandas Gandhi reminded us that throughout history, all tyrants eventually fall. In our globalized, often McDonalized environment, human greed supplemented by doses of fear and apathy often extends both despotic rule and human suffering. We will always live with degrees of xenophobia, bigotry, racism, inequality and the other social ills we suffer as a global community. Understand however, that a people of conscience, willing to act, can reduce and ameliorate the illnesses we suffer. And I assure you that healing and improving the human condition is a most gratifying experience.

I grew up in Apartheid South Africa. Despite my parent’s mantra that we brown people were not inferior, my reality was quite different. Being black or brown meant that you were non-white and every sphere of your life, schools, parks, beaches and public rest-rooms were apportioned by skin color – separate and unequal. Thanks in large part to United States economic sanctions in 1986, the Apartheid regime began to crumble. When Mr. Nelson Mandela came to office in 1994, after spending 27 years in prison, he proclaimed that which he was sent to jail for in the first place: that human beings were equal in the eyes of god and therefore equal before each other. He did not seek revenge for the injustices of the past, instead he begged the victims not to forget, but forgive, and work together for a common future. Today, amid the damage left upon the populace by the former government, people who have been enemies for decades are working together to build a future for their children. And they need all the help they can get.

Last summer, your math teachers, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Pavich, Mr. Vogel and Mr. Hanks from Honoka’a High worked with 100 South African teachers and 130 students to help them improve their skills. The experience transformed the lives of these Hawaii teachers and they in turn positively affected the lives of 20,000 school children in South Africa. In fact they did such an incredible job, that in June and July this year, under the auspices of Teachers Without Borders and Rotary International, Mr. Proud, Mr. Hu, Mr. Vogel and Mr. Best will be working with 200 South African teachers and more than 200 South African students. Those 200 teachers will in turn positively affect the lives of 40,000 students. Many of your teachers are not just talking the “serve your community” talk, they’re walking the walk too! In an interview after he returned last year, Mr. Clarke said this: “ …appearances can be deceiving. We are all one family. We think of South Africa on the other side of the world. Physically it is, but people are just as nice as the guy next door. My experience is difficult to describe. I left a part of my heart there. I have a certain love of the country that I didn’t have before. ” It takes people of conscience to venture out of their comfort zones and make a difference in the human condition. I hope you will do this early and often in your lives.

In the midst of economic and informational globalization, your parents and grandparents have seen the loss of cultural traditions. Yet, while this loss appears to be the by-product of an increasingly technology-driven world, I sincerely believe that you have a choice. I have never quite agreed with the melting pot analogy of America.

I have always seen it as a MOSAIC – Many colors shining brilliantly together forming a mural of immense beauty. The United States Constitution is the cornerstone of this diverse country in which individuals and groups are allowed to continue their most meaningful traditions in ways that do not infringe on the rights of others. It is the freedom to be who we are that binds us as a nation. Do NOT take that freedom lightly! Millions throughout history have given their lives to fight for that right and many around the world are dying today in the fight to maintain their cultural identity.

Assimilation has often been the test of patriotism – and often wrongly so. Countless families have changed their names and their appearances to “fit in”. That is not what America is or should be! Perhaps the state of Hawaii ought to serve in part, as a model for America – a community in which different ethnicities and cultures coexist with respect and understanding. But world events, when poorly understood, result in stereotypes and fears that threaten the very foundation of this great nation. We are all harborers of stereotypes. A moment’s reflection however, releases us from those stereotypes and encourages us to rely instead on what we have learned, that people ought not to be judged by appearances. While I may resemble the most wanted terrorist in the world, I am not he. (but the thought flashed through your mind, didn’t it?) Similarly, when the arousal of fear by media stereotypes cause those around you to act irrationally, you have a civic and patriotic duty to stop that behavior. That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is an American value ! By all means take necessary precautions, but do not use surface appearance to determine the nature of your interaction with others.

Beware of the word “tolerance”. Tolerance is a well-intentioned concept with perhaps unintended implications. Tolerance implies a “less than I” status and I suggest to you that it is inherently unAmerican to merely “tolerate” each other. We rejoice in the freedom to be who we are . I believe we must move beyond tolerance; let us recognize, understand and respect our differences as Americans of different cultures. There is greater strength in diversity than there is in homogeneity!

You have a choice. Consider reconnecting with your cultural heritage and your family traditions – if YOU do not continue at least some of them, then WHO will? Also bear in mind that no culture has a flawless history. Do not dwell on the sins of your ancestors – instead, rejoice in their accomplishments and their achievements and all that they bring to this great nation. Globalization does not have to swallow cultural identity. America is a majestic mosaic of many cultures. We need not and must not lose our ancestral cultures in a melting pot in which no ingredients can be identified.

Live your life with meaning. An existence with no meaning is no life at all.
In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, Rueven receives some of this advice from his father: “Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?” He paused again, his eyes misty now, then went on.

“I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one’s life with meaning.”

Graduates of the class of 2002, be confident in your abilities. Take the initiative to venture out and create your own memories. Go forth with love, humility and compassion in your hearts. Live a life of conscience and be willing to act in the face of injustice and suffering. Go forth with your eyes wide open and before you go, know that life isn’t fair, and that one’s attitude about anything, is everything! Go forth determined to make a positive difference in the human condition. Don’t be afraid to fail. Live your life with meaning. Go forth knowing that people all over the planet are waiting to meet you and share their lives with you. You and your ancestors are a brilliant part of the global cultural mosaic. It is no accident that I stand before you tonight. Go see for yourself, it is indeed, a small world, afterall !

Thank you, Congratulations, and may God bless us all.

Yunus C. Peer
Proctor Academy ’85 – 98
Punahou School 98+