Honorary Doctor Richard Ebeling Delivers Speech to UFM Graduates

New Media UFM  | 17 de mayo de 2022  | Vistas: 102

During the graduation ceremony in May 2022, the honorary doctor, Richard Ebeling, shared a few words to the graduates about the importance of the ideas and philosophy of the institution and how these remain relevant today more than ever.

At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Ebeling went back thirty years to an event in the USSR. At that time, the new leaders in charge of the country found themselves carrying out moderate reforms in their economy, trying to open it up to the world, seeking to resemble liberal countries. However, the hard-line leaders did not agree and tried to carry out a coup. For three days the country was paralyzed, but the coup failed and, the next day, a big rally was held in Parliament, in which in a symbolic act the flag of the USSR was changed to that of Russia, while the people claimed freedom in chants.

From this situation, the doctor allowed himself to make a comparison between the rules dictated by the party and the state versus the freedoms that we take for granted, since these ideals were an aspiration and not the norm at that time.

They wanted to be like us choosing their own career, choosing their own profession, not being afraid of what they said, debated, argued, believed and demonstrated in free association with others. (…) Those people at that time dreamed of having an education like yours.”

In his speech, he highlighted how Francisco Marroquín University since its foundation, based on its ideals, its mission and its principles, has been dedicated to promoting the right of the individual to have control over his own life. And how these founding ideas become a route to follow now that they are graduates, to put them into practice in a free society. In this way, Dr. Ebeling concluded his exhortation to the graduates who are now embarking on a new stage of their lives.