Tom Hanks urges Harvard grads to defend the truth and resist indifference

Tom Hanks told graduates of Harvard University on Thursday to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain.

“For the truth to some is no longer empirical. It's no longer based on data, nor common sense, nor even common decency," said the two-time Academy Award winner during his keynote address. He invoked the Latin word for truth, “veritas,” Harvard’s motto.

“Telling the truth is no longer the benchmark for public service," he said. "It’s no longer the salve to our fears, or the guide to our actions. Truth is now considered malleable, by opinion and by zero sum endgames."

That left the more than 9,000 graduates at Harvard's 372nd commencement with a choice to make, said the Hollywood icon, who has played an astronaut ("Apollo 13"), a soldier ("Saving Private Ryan"), a little boy in a man's body ("Big") and even a Harvard professor (the fictional Robert Langdon in "The Da Vinci Code," "Angels & Demons" and "Inferno" film trilogy) in a decades-long movie career.

“It’s the same option for all grown-ups who have to decide to be one of three types of Americans: Those who embrace liberty and freedom for all; those who won’t; or those who are indifferent," he said. “Only the first do the work of creating a more perfect union, a nation indivisible. The others get in the way."