Graduates may be hearing wrong me$$age

It is the season of commencement speeches. High schools and colleges near and far are celebrating their graduates by hosting celebrity speechmakers. We listen for sound bites from the Bills—Clinton, Cosby, and Gates—along with CEOs and novelists, college presidents, and politicians.

Most of their talks inspire, but many have also adopted an underlying message that links education, graduation, and material success. In our excitement for the graduates, we've put the emphasis in the wrong place.

America's Founding Fathers knew that an educated citizenry was the only means of preserving a true democracy. Democracy is not about "the majority." It's about debate. First adopted by the rational Greeks, democracy is about arguing freely to arrive at the wisest and most sensible conclusion for a community or a country. Rigorous debate—not just sound bites—requires critical thinking; hence the crucial role of education. Read more of this opinion piece in The Christian Science Monitor online.