Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

"Do not hide your faith and your beliefs under a bushel basket, especially in this world that seems to have gone mad with political correctness." -Clarence Thomas

(Hillsdale, MI)—Speaking at Hillsdale College's Commencement ceremony on May 14, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had a simple, unconventional message for graduates: Don't worry so much about "changing the world"—just be good citizens. 

"At the risk of understating what is necessary to preserve liberty in our form of government," said Thomas, "I think more and more that it depends on good citizens, discharging their daily duties in their daily obligations." 

"I think it is hard enough for you to solve your own problems, not to mention those problems that often seem to defy solution," he added. "In addressing your own obligations and responsibilities in the right way, you actually help to ensure our liberty and our form of government."

Thomas also addressed the role of faith—a bold faith—in being a good citizen, something he said he learned personally from his grandfather, who taught him to revere "duty, honor [and] country" even though he was reportedly raised in a racially-segregated society. 

"He knew that though not nearly perfect, our constitutional ideals were perfectible if we worked to protect them rather than to undermine them," he said of his grandfather. "Don't discard that which is precious along with that which is tainted." 

Thomas concluded his message by exhorting graduates to thank their families and teachers—"these are the people who have shown you how to sacrifice for those they love, even when that sacrifice is not always appreciated," he said—and to be kind to those in need.

"As you go through life," he said, "try to be that person whose actions teach others how to be better people and better citizens."