US President Barack Obama has urged college graduates to shun those who want to confront a rapidly linked world by building walls around the United States or by embracing ignorance.
He used his commencement speech at Rutgers University yesterday to illustrate a world view antithetical to the ideas espoused by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Mr Obama referred to disparaging comments about Muslims and immigrants, and opposition to free trade deals.
He said, in politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. Mr Obama told the nearly 12,000 graduating students that the pace of change on the planet is accelerating, not subsiding. He also said, recent history had proved that the toughest challenges cannot be solved in isolation.