Obama's Advice to Grads: Don't Believe the Cynics

President Barack Obama has some advice for graduates who are about to embark on the next chapter of their lives.

He says young people are growing up during a time of "great challenge" and "sweeping change" — and that the voices of cynicism and pessimism seem the loudest on television and in newspapers and blogs.

Writing in "Parade" magazine, the president says: "Don't believe them." He says Americans have a proud history of persevering through difficult times.

Obama carries his commencement message next Saturday to graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. In June he speaks at a high school in Kalamazoo, Mich. He's also given commencement speeches at the University of Michigan and Virginia's Hampton University.