In 'Advice to Graduates' George Saunders gives a speech about how the generation in
front of him needs to become more kind 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
more nice faster he his giving his insight on the world by telling the students personal and
embarrassing stories from his childhood. While he is telling stories from his past, he brings
humor into his speech to keep their attention, which is really affective in his argument. Saunders
uses stasis and kairos effectively to get his argument of being kind more quickly across to the
graduate students.

The topic of regret is very much so a timely topic, since people regret things all the time.
Regret comes around every once in a while, depending on the outcome of the situation and how
everything was handled. With Saunders having one big regret from his childhood he presents
kindness as a major theme in his speech. Saunders talks about how people become more kind 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 (Saunders 21).' He brings this
up to the graduates because there is still a chance for them to become nicer more soon. This is
very relevant and accurate in today's world, because 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 more kind sooner is a very urgent topic, although it is not something that can
happen over night. Saunders emphasizes the urgency of becoming nicer more quickly by saying
we, college graduates, 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. As the graduates are listening to these 'confusions' they are thinking
yes, I am like this but do not want to admit it. Saunders knows that this thought is going through
their mind and points it out to get their attention.

Saunders presents to the college 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 truly
regrets the most. He regrets not standing up for a girl in seventh grade that would get picked on
by his classmates and friends. Saunders 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. By him giving his story of how he failed to be kind as
a student he is showing the college students that he make mistakes too and expects them to make
some as well but hopes that the graduates will want to be a more kind generation than the last
few have been.

Since he is speaking to a bunch of college graduates, eighteen to twenty-two years old, he
can really beat the point into them to be more kind to each other more quickly. 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 more loving, he is
simply just asking us to hurry it along or speed it up a little. In other words, become nicer and
kinder and more loving starting today, not tomorrow. He wants the younger generation to have a
bit of urgency when it come to being nice to others so we do not regret it years later. '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.' Saunders is putting things into perspective here when he
talks about having children will change us completely.

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 more kind faster, the audience, or college graduates, has 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 manages to
get half the graduates to become kinder just by giving that thirty minute or so speech, which in
all honesty, I believe his main goal of the speech. Even though he wants the graduates to
become nicer, he understands and wants them to live their lives 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 (Saunders 22).' At first it may 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. He says you will be a kinder you eventually but he wants you to be a kinder you
more quickly.

Kindness can have many different definitions, but Saunders defines kindness as sticking
up for others even though it might not be the cool thing to do. He shows that this is his version
of the definition by telling us his story about his biggest regret; how he was not kind to an
innocent girl at his elementary school. Kindness does not usually come naturally to most people,
so there is some 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.' By him letting us know what is good, he is saying these are some things we
can do to be more kind.

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 more kind sooner. It would be a more enjoyable place for everyone if the
younger people of today became more kind sooner. 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 college graduates if they are more kind 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.

