True Confession: Until Thursday morning, I had never heard of Harrison Butker, but man, oh, man, what an introduction: I watched his barnburner of a commencement address delivered at Benedictine College—a small, Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas. It was not NFL player Butker’s gracious delivery that burned some barns. It was the countercultural content that not only burned barns but ignited the fury of paper-thin-skinned, prickly, bigoted inclusivists who can’t tolerate anyone who dares to dissent from their perverse assumptions.
For those who haven’t yet heard Butker’s remarkable address, here are some highlights:
On purportedly Catholic political leaders:
~ “Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues, things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, [and] euthanasia as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values in media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder. Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith but at the same time is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally.
“He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice. He is not alone. From the man behind the COVID lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America, they all have a glaring thing in common: They are Catholic.”
On Christian cowardice masquerading as charity:
~ “If we are going to be men and women for this time in history, we need to stop pretending that the Church of nice is a winning proposition. We must always speak and act in charity but never mistake charity for cowardice. … The cultural elite want to see Christianity private hidden away and harmless. … We fear speaking truth because now, unfortunately, truth is in the minority.”
On the failures of church leaders:
~ “But make no mistake, before we even attempt to fix any of the issues plaguing society, we must first get our own house in order, and it starts with our leaders. … we need our bishops to be vocal about the teachings of the church, setting aside their own personal comfort and embracing their cross. Our bishops are not politicians but shepherds, so instead of fitting in the world by going along to get along, they … need to … lead.”
On Christian commitment to courageous truth-telling:
~ “[P]laces like Benedictine, a little Kansas college” is “showing the world how an ordered Christ-centered existence is the recipe for success. … I am certain the reporters at the AP could not have imagined that their attempt to rebuke and embarrass places and people like those here at Benedictine wouldn’t be met with anger but instead met with excitement and pride—not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify him.”
On the God-given role of wife and mother:
~ “I think it is you women who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. … 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’m on this stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation.”
On the God-given role of men as leaders in home and community:
~ “To the gentleman here today: Part of what plagues our society is this lie that has been told to you that men are not necessary in the home or in our communities. As men, we set the tone of the culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction and chaos set in. This absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation. … Be unapologetic in your masculinity, fighting against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy.”
On life with God at the center:
~ “[A] life without God is not a life at all, and the cost of salvation is worth more than any career. … Make no mistake you are entering into mission territory in a post-God world. But you were made for this, and with God by your side and a constant striving for virtue within your vocation, you too can be a saint. Christ is King to the heights.”
After touching every cultural third rail fearlessly (and affably), Butker has been on the receiving end of the vituperation of the devotees of diversity. It’s knives out from the unhinged tolerant.
People Magazine reported that “Butker’s comments were met with widespread disapproval.” No mention of the standing ovation he received from the Benedictine audience. No mention that his speech has gone viral among countless Americans—Catholics and Protestants (like me) alike—because they love and were inspired by it.
The reason for those odd omissions may be because the writer, Anna Lazarus Caplan doesn’t know any Christians, or is culturally ignorant, or is too lazy to do research, or wants to conceal how wildly popular Butker’s ideas and courage are.
While Caplan managed to include three harshly critical responses to Butker’s address, she included not one favorable response. That’s journalism today.
HuffPost described Butker’s address as a “bigoted graduation speech” and “ultraconservative blather.” “Ultraconservative” means nothing more than today’s ruling class of leftist tyrants (i.e., THE MAN) hate what Butker said.
Fifty short years ago, his statements would have been mainstream and today’s reigning ghastly notions about slaughtering full-term babies, women with congenital penises, same-sex marriage, porn in schools, and throuples would have been deemed ultra-fringe—and worse.
HuffPost harshly denounced the Catholic Butker for unapologetically affirming the beliefs of the Catholic Church on sexuality, the rights of the unborn, IVF, surrogacy, and euthanasia. Sounds like anti-Catholic bigotry to me. Imagine a lefty harshly denouncing a Muslim for expressing Muslim beliefs on, say, sexuality, the roles and rights of women, or the roles and rights of men. You sure don’t hear any denunciations of Muslims from campus supporters of Hamas.
Butker’s brave and inspiring speech revealed that our leftist co-existers will tolerate different anthropological, ontological, teleological, epistemic, and moral views as long as no one expresses them publicly.
To hear more about Harrison Butker’s impressive speech from someone who heard it firsthand, tune in to Jeanne Ives’ radio show The Real Story Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. (AM 560) when one of her guests will be her brother whose son—Jeanne’s nephew—was a Benedictine College graduate last week.