Friday, May 17, 2024

The obligatory reaction to Harrison Butker's commencement address

I've readily admitted that when there are news stories where sports intersect with politics or culture, I have a compulsion to weigh in (one of many reasons why I'm grateful for a platform like my radio show). 

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker recently gave the commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas (you can views said speech here, or read it here). Given that Benedictine is a Catholic institution (and Butker himself a staunch participant in the faith), the speech dealt a lot with navigating this secularized culture while maintaining a worldview featuring Christ as the center of our lives. While Butker railed on the cheapening of life through abortion as well as dinging the transgenderism cult, it was the following excerpt which seemed to rankle many. 

For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing achievement. You should be proud of all that you have achieved at this point in your young lives. I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.

I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and a mother. I am on this stage and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. . . . It cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife and embrace one of the most-important titles of all: homemaker.


When listening to the reaction of a good number of women (and prog men), you would've thought Butker just came out and said that the gals only belong in the kitchen while remaining barefoot and pregnant. He said nothing of the sort of course, but there's a narrative to be pushed along, so who has time for nuance? 


The way I interpreted that portion of the speech was Butker conveying to the female graduates that it's OK to embrace whatever life they desire upon completing educational endeavors, and that being a homemaker is just as honorable and noble (maybe even more so) as a career outside the home. At no point did he suggest that having a career is somehow taboo. I also got a sense that Butker was pushing back against people like the Hollywood elites who have used their large platforms to express pride in terminating a pregnancy in order to have a successful entertainment career (see actress Michelle Williams' speech at the 2020 Golden Globes). 


Along those same lines, there are a couple of high profile women I follow on Instagram (i.e. Abby Roth, who is Ben Shapiro's sister, and Mikhaila Fuller, daughter of Jordan Peterson) who thrive in their roles as homemakers. Whenever they post content about their lives where they extol the virtues of motherhood as well as edify their husbands, many of the comments are at best belittling and at worst incredibly vile. It doesn't occur to these trolls that Abby and Mikhaila wilfilly made decisions which they believe results in lives best lived. Sadly, ladies like these are essentially chided as "Stepford Wives." 


I probably wouldn't devote a whole lot of time to this story were it not for the times we live in. What I mean by that is we're long past the days of merely "agreeing to disagree." Instead, there are reprimands from the sports league in which Butker plays as wells as demands that his employer release him. Heck, even the city which is home to Butker's team disavowed him. 





Yes, that's the city of KC's official Twitter account. That tweet was eventually taken down. 

And because this is a story involving the NFL, it's inevitable that a certain blackballed quarterback's name will be invoked.  


 



We don't need to rehash that Kaepernick wasn't actually "banned," do we? But even if Kap was officially barred from the NFL and many (including myself) surmised such punishment would be excessive, how is taking similar action against Butker even being suggested? We goin' with the ol' "two wrongs make a right" principle????


In the end, this is simply a difference in worldview. Secular progressives don't believe in a higher being or subscribe to the fact that there's a great reward in Eternity. In their minds, this time we have on Earth is it, so soak up as much earthly rewards/possessions you can in this finite amount of time. As such, you can almost sympathize with the fact secularists are abhorred at the idea of not accomplishing something outside the home. However, a parent who stays home to raise their children to be God-fearing while supporting their working spouse knows those are investments that will pay off even after their time on Earth has passed. 


Kudos to Harrison Butker for sharing a perspective that even some of today's church leaders are hesitant to put forth. 


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