Part of his 2009 Commencement Speech: Dissent will be, and should be, part of your lives. This country was born of dissent (the Revolutionary War), defined by it (the Civil War), and changed profoundly by it. The labor, suffrage, and civil rights movements as well as the anti-Vietnam protests all come to mind. Dissent is as American as cherry pie. It is also as Oberlinian as-tofu. Whatever you choose to do it, you owe it to your bosses and your conscience to be intellectually honest.