I am currently trying to pull together a collection of famous speeches which will be appropriate for the 5th graders in my class to do for a speech meet.  I came across this speech, given by William Faulkner in 1950 upon the occasion of his receiving the Nobel Prize.  It's shameless humanism, but it is so beautifully written (spoken?) and contains so much truth that it is worth reading.  It is not very long, so click on the link above and read.  Okay?  Go ahead. 

Now, tell me what you think.  Use those Humanities brain cells and really think about it!  You go ahead, I'm going to bed.  No, seriously, I want to know.  I'm just too tired to think about it myself at the moment. 

I don't think I'll include it as an option for my students, but I'm glad I stumbled upon it.