This is a little out of the norm for this blog. But, I happened to come across an article about the kicker, Harrison Butker, for the Kansas City Chiefs and a petition to have him removed from the team over a controversial college commencement speech. I felt compelled to listen to the speech to see just how controversial it was. Instead of a savagely controversial speech, what I heard was a very honest and passionate speech about his personal faith.
He did have a few minor comments about the LGBT community, but nothing I would consider worthy of this petition against him. He directly addressed women being mothers, homemakers, and starting families. These views are considered outdated by some. But there are still men and women who feel these traditional gender roles are the right course in life for them. These beliefs are taught and followed more widely within faith communities. We are each free to choose to accept and follow them or not. Believing in traditional family roles is not a hate crime nor worthy of censorship.
Butker seemed to be harder on his own faith than anyone else. He seemed to be asking people including priests and parishioners to rise up and be better. It was honest. The speech centered on shared ideals espoused by him, his Catholic faith, and the college. Even if the graduates don’t adhere to it, the things he said were foundational doctrines of the Catholic church and the college where he was speaking. He also talked about men being men, owning their masculinity, and being masculine. You don’t hear a lot of that today.
Does it surprise me that he is being targeted? No. Public opinion does not support religion, masculinity, traditional gender roles, morality, or many of the other topics he addressed. His sin was being a public personality and saying it out loud in a public forum. He is right in that we must stand up for what we believe. We need more people to stand and speak of Jesus Christ, religion, and traditional morality. It will offend some people. We still live in America where we have freedom of speech. These things can be said. I can hear someone saying, well you don’t have the freedom of consequences for saying those things. This speech should not have consequences. He spoke his honest religious beliefs.
I was very impressed with the details about the Catholic church that he shared. He talked about problems in the church, in congregations, in the priesthood, with members and their faithfulness. There was quite a bit to take in. Then he expressed his love for the TLM or Traditional Latin Mass. Again, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how boldly devoted Harrison is to his Catholic faith. I found it inspiring and motivating. I learned a lot about the Catholic church listening to him.
The change.org petition says:
“His comments were sexist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-abortion and racist. These dehumanizing remarks against LGBTQ+ individuals, attacks on abortion rights and racial discrimination perpetuate division and undermine human rights.
These comments reinforce harmful stereotypes that threaten social progress. They create a toxic environment that hinders our collective efforts towards equality, diversity and inclusion in society. It is unacceptable for such a public figure to use their platform to foster harm rather than unity.”
What were his remarks?
In the first minute, his address is towards Catholics.
“bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues, things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia as well as a growing support for a degenerate culture values and media that all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.”
He addressed President Biden making the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally.
“He is not alone, from the man behind the COVID lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideology onto the youth of America, they all have a glaring thing in common. They are Catholic.”
“The world around us says we should keep our beliefs to ourselves whenever they go against the tyranny of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
“It doesn’t take long to find traditional and timeless teaching that haven’t been ambiguously reworded for our times.”
“This didn’t happen by chance. In a deliberate movement to embrace traditional Catholic values Benedictine has gone from just another liberal arts school with nothing to set it apart to a thriving beacon of light and a reminder to us all that when you embrace tradition, success worldly and spiritual will follow.”
“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. ”
“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 her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
“Isabelle’s dream of having a career might not have come true. But if you ask her today, if she has any regrets on her decision, she would laugh out loud without hesitation and say, ‘Heck no.’”
“Heterodox ideas about even within Catholic circles lets be honest there is nothing good about playing God with having children, whether that be your ideal number or the perfect time to conceive. No matter how you spin it, there is nothing natural about Catholic birth control.“
“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.”
Summary
I thought the commencement speech he gave was remarkable. It has stirred a debate on free speech. It has caused many to evaluate what is being canceled in our society. We are not a one-size-fits-all society. Our founding fathers gave us freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They did not say we must all conform to socially approved groupthink. I hope there are more like Harrison Butker who take a stand against the progressive ideologies that are banishing religion and traditional values from society.