In 'Advice to Graduates' George Saunders gives a speech about how the generation in
front of him needs to become kinder faster than the previous generation; in order to make the
world a better place by talking about past events that he regrets. As he is telling them to become
nicer faster he his giving his insight on the world by telling them personal and embarrassing
stories from his childhood. He brings humor into his speech to keep their attention. This is
really affective in his argument.

The topic of regret is very much so a timely topic. People regret things all the time. I
know I regret different things every once in a while, depending on the outcome of the situation
and how everything was handled. Kindness is the major topic in this speech. Saunders talks
about how people become kinder as they become older, because they see that being selfish really
has no point. 'As we get older, we come to see how useless it is to be selfish ' how illogical,
really.' I think this is very relevant and accurate in today's world. You can walk
around the mall and determine the kinder from the not so kind people by observing how they
interact with the employees in the different stores.

Becoming kinder sooner is a very urgent topic, although it won't be the end of the world
if it doesn't happen over night. Saunders emphasizes the urgency of becoming nicer sooner by
saying we, young people, think we are the only ones that matter on this planet, that we are
separated from the world, and we are permanent, meaning that we know death is real but we
don't really think it's going to happen to us. 'Each of us is born with a series of built in
confusions that are probably somehow Darwinism. These are: (1) we're central to the universe
(' our personal story is the main and most interesting story' ); (2) we're separate from the
universe (there's the US and then, ' and, you know, other people), and (3) we're permanent
(death is real' but not from me).' We all know that these things are not true, but
somehow end up thinking like this anyways.

Saunders presents to the graduates a story from his past to grab their attention. He goes
on about what people might think he would regret most of all that he has done. He asks himself
allowed, 'What do I regret? Being poor from time to time? Not really. ' Skinny-dipping in a
river in Sumatra, a little buzzed, and looking up and seeing like 300 monkeys sitting on a
pipeline, pooping down into the river' ? And getting deathly ill afterward' ? Not so much'.
Then, after joking around for a minute he gets serious and says what he regrets
the most. He regrets not standing up for a girl in seventh grade that would get picked on by his
classmates and friends. He would mildly stand up for her, but not to the point of something was
going to change from it. He regrets that he didn't do better. Most of all he regrets the failures of
kindness in his life.

Since he is speaking to a bunch of high school graduates, he can really beat the point into
them to be kinder to one another earlier. He says, as we get older, naturally we become more
kind because we are more aware of how idiotic being selfish is, so we don't do it as much.
'Since, according to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more
loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now.' As he is saying we are going
to become more kinder and loving, he is simply just asking us to hurry it along/ speed it up a
little. In other words, become nicer and kinder and more loving starting today, not tomorrow. If
everyone does one kind deed today and two tomorrow we are already making this world a nicer
place. 'And so, a prediction, and my heartfelt wish for you: As you get older, your self will
diminish and you will grow in love. YOU will gradually be replaced by LOVE. If you have
kids, that will be a huge moment in your process of self-diminishment. You really won't care
what happens to YOU, as long as they benefit.'

Kindness exists everywhere today. Young people being kind and sticking up for others is
not seen that much today, although, it can and does happen on occasion. With the authors
proposal of becoming kinder faster, the audience, or graduates, have to make the decision to
either take his words to heart and try their hardest to become more kind and loving or to blow it
off like he never said anything and never look back at it. I think both types of people were
sitting in that audience. Say only half wanted to start becoming nicer, he still manage to make
the world a kinder place just by giving that thirty minute speech, which in all honesty, I believe
his main goal of the speech. Even though he wants you to become nicer, he wants you to live
your life to the fullest. 'Do all the other things, the ambitious things ' travel, get rich, get
famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers'
' but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness.' At
first it my seem as if he wants you to completely change your life, but as he says in the quote
before he wants you to be you ' just be a kinder you.

Kindness can have many different definitions. I would define it as the act of being nice
and caring to someone else because you want to not because you are made to. Others might just
define it as being nice to someone even if they were told to be or were required to be to keep
their position, friends, job, etc. Kindness doesn't usually come natural to most people so there is
effort involved in being kind. Saunders asks allowed, 'How might we Do this? How might we
become more loving, more open, less selfish, more present, less delusional, etc., etc?'
He answers his own questions with explaining what is good. 'You already know that
because, in your life, there have been High Kindness periods and Low Kindness periods, and you
know what inclined you toward the former and away from the latter. Education is good; '
prayer is good; meditation's good; ' ' recognizing that there have been countless really smart
people before us who have asked these same questions and left behind answers for us'.

The act of being kind is evaluated by you internally and by others around you based on
their personal definition of kindness. I think it is tricky to evaluate completely because no one
knows why exactly you picked up the litter and put it in the trash can, helped a kid carry their
books that were obviously too heavy for them, hold the door open for the next person behind
you, or give your seat up for the girl with the broken leg to sit down. So how can someone really
evaluate your act of kindness? They can say that was very nice of you to do, but did you do it
because you wanted to or did you do it because you were taught to?

After evaluating 'Advice to Graduates' by Saunders, using the kairos and stasis methods,
I would say this is a very strong argument about kindness. I completely agree with Saunders
point of trying to be kinder sooner. I think they world would be a much more enjoyable place for
everyone if the younger people of the world were as nice as the older people. Saunders
convinces me to be kinder by giving examples of regret from his own life. He does this by using
humor in his introduction then when he starts to talk about what he truly regrets the mood seems
to become more serious. He does a great job of somewhat making it into a challenge by saying
he doesn't regret anything but that one thing then tells the graduates if they are kinder to
everyone they might not have regrets. In other words, he is challenging people to be kinder with
the reward being not having to regret not being kind.

