Speaking at Syracuse University in 2012, filmmaker Aaron Sorkin spoke on various of issues. "Make no mistake about it, you are dumb. You’re a group of incredibly well-educated dumb people. I was there. We all were there. You’re barely functional. There are some screw-ups headed your way. I wish I could tell you that there was a trick to avoiding the screw-ups, but the screw-ups, they’re a-coming for you. It’s a combination of life being unpredictable, and you being super dumb," he wrote. "Develop your own compass, and trust it. Take risks, dare to fail, remember the first person through the wall always gets hurt," he said, adding, "Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day. Civility, respect, kindness, character. You’re too good for schadenfreude, you’re too good for gossip and snark, you’re too good for intolerance—and since you’re walking into the middle of a presidential election, it’s worth mentioning that you’re too good to think people who disagree with you are your enemy. Unless they went to Georgetown, in which case, they can go to hell. Don’t ever forget that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world. It’s the only thing that ever has," he concluded.
