Rainn Wilson gave a commencement speech to rich kids — and he got very real with them.

Annie Reneau
06.05.18

Rainn Wilson started his New Trier High School commencement speech poking lighthearted fun at the graduates’ wealth.

Pulling from the Chicago North Shore’s most affluent neighborhoods, New Trier is known as a public school for rich kids. Even their traditional graduation garb highlights the school’s demographic.

Rather than the traditional cap and gown, the 1,000 or so graduating seniors don white tuxedos and dresses adorned with a red rose. It’s quite a sight. Photo via Upsilon Andromedae/Flickr.

Wilson graduated from New Trier decades ago. Best known for his iconic role as Dwight K. Schrute in the "The Office," Wilson also co-founded SoulPancake, a digital media company that explores life’s big questions.

The actor's love of humor and humanity shine through in his commencement speech to New Trier’s 2018 graduates.

Wilson started off joking about the school’s mascot, the Trevian.

"For those of you who don’t know, a 'Trevian' is a person from Trier, Germany, who was given a BMW on their 16th birthday," Wilson said. (Cue laughter.) He also pointed out the irony of having the ceremony in the Sears Centre "considering probably not a single person in this room has ever set foot inside of a Sears." Again, laughter. These folks know themselves.

Then he got serious about what the students’ privilege means for them as they move into the world.  

"We’re a privileged bunch in many ways," Wilson said. "Most of us have come from money, have some money, most of us are white-skinned, and come from families where there’s been a tremendous amount of success. Most of us are going to get an amazing secondary education. And for most of us, the doors to the business world, or the art world, or political world, or science world will be wide open for us."

"This is not something I ever want you to feel bad about," he continued. "What privilege means is that we have an opportunity ... not to be entitled, not to be superior, but to acknowledge our privilege and do whatever we can to help those who don’t have it."

People sometimes mistake pointing out privilege with pushing guilt. As Wilson explained, advantages and abundance are simply opportunities "to make the world a better place."

"We have an opportunity to create jobs, nonprofits, to help fund arts organizations, help make science make tremendous strides forward, and to use our education for the greater good rather than merely seeking personal comfort and personal status," he said.

The standard mantra of "be a good person" is inadequate to conquer the challenges facing humanity, Wilson explained.

"The world is hurting from disunity and injustice, and we need to do more," Wilson said. "It is our privilege to be change agents in this world, to be of maximum love in this world, of maximum service, to make every school on this planet as great as the incredible New Trier High School."

And Wilson walks his talk.

He and his wife, Holiday Reinhorn, founded an educational initiative for girls in Haiti called Lidè. He also serves on the board of the global grassroots educational nonprofit, Mona Foundation.

Wilson capped off his thoughts on privilege with a quote from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, from which Wilson draws his inspiration to serve humanity:

"Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Do some good to every person whose path you cross, and be of some benefit to him ... for love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate is darkness, no matter where it may make its nest."

Imagine what the world would look like if all of us took Wilson's advice to heart and used whatever privilege we have for good.

Watch Wilson's full speech here:

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A funny new video nails the disturbing truth behind e-cigarettes

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Don't test on animals. That's something we can all agree on, right? No one likes to think of defenseless cats, dogs, hamsters, and birds being exposed to a bunch of things that could make them sick (and the animals aren't happy about it, either). It's no wonder so many people and organizations have fought to stop it. But did you ever think that maybe brands are testing products on us too, they're just not telling us they're doing it?

I know, I know, it sounds like a conspiracy theory, but that's exactly what e-cigarette brands like JUUL (which corners the e-cigarette market) are doing in this country right now, and young people are on the frontlines of the fallout. Most people assume that the government would have looked at devices that allow people to inhale unknown chemicals into their lungs BEFORE they hit the market. You would think that someone in the government would have determined that they are safe. But nope, that hasn't happened. And vape companies are fighting to delay the government's ability to evaluate these products.

So no one really knows the long-term health effects of e-cigarette use, not even JUUL's CEO, nor are they informing the public about the potential risks. On top of that, according to the FDA, there's been a 78% increase in e-cigarette usage among high school and middle school-aged children in just the last two years, prompting the U.S. Surgeon General to officially recognize the trend as an epidemic and urge action against it.

These facts have elicited others to take action, as well.

Truth Initiative, the nonprofit best known for dropping the real facts about smoking and vaping since 2000 through its truth campaign, is now on a mission to confront e-cigarette brands like JUUL about the lack of care they've taken to inform consumers of the potential adverse side effects of their products. And they're doing it with the help of animal protesters who are tired of seeing humans treated like test subjects.

The March Against JUUL | Tested On Humans | truth www.youtube.com

"No one knows the long-term effects of JUULing so any human who uses one is being used as a lab rat," says, appropriately, Mario the Sewer Rat.

"I will never stop fighting JUUL. Or the mailman," notes Doug the Pug, the Instagram-famous dog star.

Truth, the national counter-marketing campaign for youth smoking prevention, hopes this fuzzy, squeaky, snorty animal movement arms humans with the facts about vaping and inspires them to demand transparency from JUUL and other e-cigarette companies. You can get your own fur babies involved too by sharing photos of them wearing protest gear with the hashtag #DontTestOnHumans. Here's some adorable inspo for you:

The dangerous stuff is already out there, but with knowledge on their side, young people will hopefully make the right choices and fight companies making the wrong ones. If you need more convincing, here are the serious facts.

Over the last decade, 127 e-cigarette-related seizures were reported, which prompted the FDA to launch an official investigation in April 2019. Since then, over 215 cases of a new, severe lung illness have sprung up all over the country, with six deaths to date. While scientists aren't yet sure of the root cause, the majority of victims were young adults who regularly vaped and used e-cigarettes. As such, the CDC has launched an official investigation into the potential link.

Sixteen-year-old Luka Kinard, a former frequent e-cigarette-user, is one of the many teens who experienced severe side effects. "Vaping was my biggest addiction," he told NowThis. "It lasted for about 15 months of my high school career." In 2018, Kinard was hospitalized after having a seizure. He also had severe nausea, chest pains, and difficulty breathing.

After the harrowing experience, he quit vaping, and began speaking out about his experience to help inform others and hopefully inspire them to quit and/or take action. "It shouldn't take having a seizure as a result of nicotine addiction like I had for teens to realize that these companies are taking advantage of what we don't know," Kinard said.

Teens are 16 times more likely to use e-cigarettes than adults, and four times more likely to take up traditional smoking as a result, according to truth, and yet the e-cigarette market remains virtually unregulated and untested. In fact, companies like JUUL continue to block and prevent FDA regulations, investing more than $1 million in lawyers and lobbying efforts in the last quarter alone.

Photo by Lindsay Fox/Pixabay

Consumers have a right to know what they're putting in their bodies. If everyone (and their pets) speaks up, the e-cigarette industry will have to make a change. Young people are already taking action across the country. They're hosting rallies nationwide and on October 9 as part of a National Day of Action, young people are urging their friends and classmates to "Ditch JUUL." Will you join them?

For help with quitting e-cigarettes, visit thetruth.com/quit or text DITCHJUUL to 88709 for free, anonymous resources.

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