Commencement chaos

If you have not heard by now, Harrison Butker, the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, was highly criticized for voicing Catholic beliefs during a commencement speech at a Catholic college. He said many things that could be considered political by today’s standards. In our society, it is not the clergy, but politicians who have taken up the mantle of being the primary instructors of morality. When clergy attempt to speak on moral issues, they are dismissed as being politically divisive. Only one viewpoint is tolerable. If you are too conservative, you will be labeled, mocked, and possibly cancelled.

During recent weekend commencements, there were many cases of openly antisemitic hatred, disrespect for school policy and even criminal violence during our Cape Central High School graduation ceremony. The most shock and outrage centered on Christian family values. Did the Kansas City Chiefs kicker say that women belonged in the kitchen and should not obtain a career, as many claimed? If you listen to the speech or read the transcript, you will realize these claims are exaggerated.

Even the cast of "The View" were willing to defend Butker’s freedom of speech, while they mocked traditional Catholic/Christian views as “cult-like", and suggested that people who hold to traditional views of marriage and family need to get therapy. As a Baptist pastor, I did not agree with everything Butker had to say in his speech. However, I will defend his right to speak freely.

Not everyone agrees The Latin Mass is God’s preferred expression of worship. The mass or worship service is conducted primarily in Latin for traditional Catholics. Clearly, Butker was addressing a specific group of people. He knew his audience better than the media, who twisted his words. What I found surprising was that the outrage was for the least political part of his speech.

Butker criticized the current president and spoke out against the immorality we see during Pride Month. He drew attention to the fact that President Biden made the sign of the cross at a pro-abortion rally. Such information could impact the upcoming election. Many Catholics are unaware of this incident. Instead, we were distracted by a misstatement about his wife, whom he said, “would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

The NFL, which routinely has players who abuse their spouses and girlfriends, was quick to condemn this outspoken Christian. Representatives from CatholicVote reached out to Commissioner Roger Goodell to question if the NFL’s policy of nondiscrimination includes "Catholics, pro-life Americans, mothers, and those who hold to traditional moral beliefs."

Cape Central High School, still reeling from trauma, must reschedule graduation because of a few people who engaged in criminal behavior. Many college students who would condemn Butker openly support Hamas, which does not treat women as equal to men. Still, there appear to be few consequences for those who disrupted nationwide graduation ceremonies. Apparently, there were students at Duke who walked out before Jerry Seinfeld’s speech because he was Jewish or they perceived him as holding beliefs with which they disagreed.

Many students complained that they could not have a normal graduation ceremony during the pandemic in 2020, and now because of disruptive protests, their college graduation has been ruined.

There are lessons we can learn from these recent events. First, do not repeat what you hear until you examine the issue. Second, protesting becomes criminal when it becomes violent and disruptive. Lawlessness will only increase as our legal system fails to intervene.

We must always be prepared to defend ourselves from those who hate freedom. Too many innocent bystanders end up victims of mob violence. When extremists think lawlessness is justified, they must find out that both sides of the political aisle will face the same level of discipline. America should not have political prisoners, or financially support anarchy in our streets. How will we as a nation be able to promote freedom throughout the world if we cancel half of our citizens?

Read Ephesians 4:11-15. We are encouraged to mature in the faith and to speak the truth in love while avoiding, “human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes”.