Kermit at Commencement Might Be Perfect

When I graduated from college, the commencement speaker was the head of Alumni Affairs at the university I attended. The theme of his address, as I recall, was how important it was, as an alumni, to support the school financially.

It was a little bit of a letdown.

Certainly, Western Washington University was never going to attract the sort of superstar speaker larger schools sometimes book. It’s a mid-sized state school – respected, but not unusual in its academic achievements. It certainly not the kind of place astronauts and ex-presidents frequent. Still, someone asking us to stroke a check before the ink on our diplomas was dry seemed uninspiring at best and more than a little mercenary.

We should have gotten a puppet.

This week, it was announced that the University of Maryland had booked theater empresario, banjo master, and acclaimed film actor Kermit the Frog as its commencement speaker. In all fairness, Kermit’s creator, the late, great Jim Henson, was a Maryland graduate. Still, there are those who aren’t feeling the felt.

Detractors are accusing the school of avoiding potential controversy and downplaying the current political and social climate. Kermit, they say, is the safe rather than serious move.

I disagree. It might, in fact, be genius.

Let us not forget that Kermit the Frog, in his own way, has always given voice to very specific ideas and ideals. When he told audiences – children and adults alike – that it was not easy being green, it was a metaphor. He was talking about what it felt like to be considered Other, something outside the accepted norm. When said it was not easy being green, he was also saying it was not easy being a racial, religious, or ideological minority. He was teaching a lesson – the lesson - of acceptance that is theoretically foundational to the ideology of the United States.

Later, when he sang ‘Rainbow Connection,’ he was again taking the role of sage and teacher. He was describing a sort of societal ideal where our differences are celebrated rather than reviled. Kermit wasn’t being political, but he was being an unabashed humanist – despite being a frog.

Kermit critics are complaining that the amphibian of the hour is, in fact, fictional. I disagree. Is he a character, created and performed? Absolutely. But to his fans – and there a lot of fans – he is real. Fictional characters don’t teach people to count, or spell, or be kind to one another. They don’t demonstrate, by example, what it means to be a good leader. Kermit has, and continues to do, all those things.

The commencement Kermit is slated to be performed by Matt Vogel – the character’s puppeteer since 2017. His speech will be written, in-house, at Muppets Studio. This is important because it speaks to Kermit’s brand. This is not a knock-off performance, but a prepared address developed by people who understand what Kermit the Frog says and, more importantly, what Kermit the Frog means. The fact that the address will be at Henson’s alma mater only amplifies the importance of getting it right.

There are questions, as is often the case, as to what the content and context of Kermit’s spotlight speech might be. Some wonder if he might address current events. It seems unlikely – that has never really been the Muppet jam. Others wonder if Kermit’s familiar messages of inclusiveness might be construed as pro-D.E.I. It is possible, I suppose. The frog, I’m sure, is considered in some camps to skew a little woke.

But here is the thing – Kermit the Frog is not, as is traditionally the case with commencement speakers, a messenger bringing life advice from a place of experience. Kermit the Frog is really the message itself. Be kind. Be open to others. Be a voice of positivity. Be green.

So rather than protest Kermit – who I feel certain will not be hitting up graduates for donations – I wonder if the frog-in-question shouldn’t take this engagement on the road. More commencement addresses. Perhaps a TED talk. Because audiences understand that Kermit’s personality is, in fact, manufactured – an amalgamation of ideas pitched by many – it will not get in the way of the message. There is no personal history and know threat of compromising escapades to dilute his simple, but never simplistic, core belief…

We’re all in this together.