Stephen King's commencement address

I had not visited the Stephen King web site in some time so I did not see this speech when it was posted. Stephen King gave the commencement address at the University of Maine on May 7. The entire address is well-worth reading. There's also a link to hear the audio. Here's an excerpt:

Give away a dime for every dollar you make. Why not? If you don't give it, the government's just going to take it. You think you can't afford it, one lousy thin dime out of every dollar? If you think you can't, just look at the taxes you pay on every gallon of gas you buy. If you think you can't, look at all the sick, hungry, unhappy, uneducated people standing outside the fence America has constructed around herself, people who only want a little something for themselves and their families. For their children. Very few of them are suicide bombers. Very few of them are Mr. Bush's "enemies of freedom," whether he believes that or not. They might become enemies of freedom, but right now all they want is a little something to get by on. A little chance at the kind of joy most of us are feeling today. A dime out of every dollar. And here's a secret I learned six summers ago, lying in a ditch beside the road, covered in my own blood and thinking I was going to die: you go out broke. Everything's on loan, anyway. You're not an owner, you're only a steward. So pass some of it on. You may not have much now, but you're going to have a lot. And when you do, remember the ones that don't have anything. A dime out of every dollar. If everyone did it, maybe we could make Mr. Bush let go of the weapons he loves so well and give some of the money he spends on them back to the farmers, the unwed mothers, and the working poor.

I do not own much. My house is small. My car has too many miles. But I am rich. I am fortunate to have been born in the United States to middle-class parents. My children are healthy, my wife is loving and we have food stored in our pantry. As Christians we tithe. Some of our tithe goes to our small Methodist church in the country. Some goes to the local homeless shelter. Some goes to Doctors Without Borders. We also give to the American Civil Liberties Union. And we donate to Sojourners. If you are inspired by Mr. King's address, look for local charities to support. And the other organizations are worth supporting too.