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I'm just gettin' warmed up.I don't know who went to this place.William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryant, William Tell, whoever. Their spirit is dead,iif they ever had one. It's gone. You're buildin'
a rat ship here,a vessel forseagoin' snitches.And if you think you're preparin' these minnows for manhood,you better think again,because I say you are killin' the very spirit...this institution
proclaims it instills. What a sham.What kind of a show are you guys puttin' on here today ? I mean, the only classin this act is sittin' next to me.I'm here to tell you this boy's soul is intact.It's non-negotiable.
You know how I know ? Someone here, and I'm not gonna say who, offered to buy it.Only Charlie here wasn't sellin'.I show you out of order. You don't know what
out of order is, Mr. Trask.I'd show you,but I'm too old, I'm too tired, too fuckin' blind.
If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take...a flamethrower
to this place !
Out of order ? Who the hell you think you're talkin' to ?I've been around,you know ?There was a time i could see. And I have seen.Boys like these,younger than these,their arms torn out,their legs ripped off. But there is nothin' like the sight...of an amputated spirit.There is no prosthetic for that.You think you're merely sendin' this splendid foot soldier...back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs,but I say you are...executin' his soul !And why ?Because he's not a Baird man.Baird men.You hurt this boy,you're gonna be Baird bums,
the lot of you.And, Harry, Jimmy,Trent, wherever you are out there,fuck you too !I'm not finished. As I came in here, I heard those words: "cradle of leadership." Well, when
the bow breaks, the cradle will fall, and it has fallen here.
It has fallen.Makers of men,creators of leaders. Be careful what kind of leaders you're producin' here. I don't know if Charlie's silence here today...is right or wrong;I'm not a judge or jury.But I can tell you this: he won't sell anybody out...to buy his future ! And that, my friends, is called integrity. That's called courage. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of.Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew,but I never took it. You know why ? It was too damn hard.Now here's Charlie.He's come to the crossroads.He has chosen a path.It's the right path. It's a path
made of principle...that leads to character.Let him continue on his journey. You hold this boy's future
in your hands, Committee. It's a valuable future, believe me.Don't destroy it.
Protect it.Embrace it. It's gonna make you proud one day, I promise you.
