Harrison Butker defends the home

Last week – Commencement Week across America – a professional athlete actually defended that most maligned – and basic – American institution, the home. Harrison Butker, kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, spoke at Commencement at Benedictine College on Tuesday (May 14). There he gave the most intelligent – and even personal – defense of the home that America has heard since the Great Awakening. And the American left was apoplectic – and worse, a city employee revealed his hometown, just to see him get hurt. The Attorney General of Missouri is investigating – but that’s far less important than the message Butker delivered. His message strikes at the heart of what has gone wrong with America today. If a Second (Third? Fourth?) Great Awakening is to occur in America, Harrison Butker will deserve much of the credit.

What Harrison Butker said

Harrison Butker, as mentioned, delivered the Commencement address at Benedictine College – a Roman Catholic college. He sounded many conservative themes, according to Allison Anton, writing in The Western Journal. In fact he has sounded those themes before. His X feed is not that copious, but when he does post, he posts forthright defenses of the Christian faith. For example:

Ms. Anton reported that he delivered an explicitly pro-life message, and also criticized the Alphabet Soup movement.

That made the leftists simmer badly enough. But they didn’t really start weeping and gnashing their teeth, until he said this:

For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all you have achieved to 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’re going to get in your career[s]? 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[s] 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 as a mother. I’m on this stage, and able to be the man I am, because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I am beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me. But 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.

An X influencer calling herself Christian Nightmares shared a clip of Butker saying the above. In the accompanying text, she took the Name of the Lord and Savior of mankind in vain.

Butker had more – much more – to say. USA Today sportswriter Mike Freeman quoted it – more on his attitude below. Speaking of the emotion of pride – and one month ahead of “Pride Month” – Butker said:

Not the deadly sins 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.

And:

To the gentlemen here today, part of what plagues 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. Fight against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy.

Once we had a President who called on Americans to do hard things because they were hard. America followed his advice all the way to the moon.

Mike Freeman exploded.

Butker represents a segment of the population that wants to go backwards, particularly with women’s rights. These people are getting bolder and more hateful.

The goal is to wrench power from a society that has become more pluralistic and diverse, and put it back into the hands of a small group of men. And I can tell you, in their universe, they aren’t talking about men of color having all this power.

To support his point, he cited this screaming screed from the National Women’s Law Center, that shrieked of “forced pregnancies.” But as for “not talking about men of color,” he offered no supporting evidence.

More unhinged detractors

Freeman wasn’t the only one. Consider Keith Olbermann,

Ricky Davila,

Former Kansas City Commissioner Justice Horn,

and a classic AWFUL ambulance-chasing lawyer.

Incel? Didn’t she listen to the speech, in which he talked about his wife? That seems incredible, since she cited an article from the Associated Press (via NBC), quoting that part of the speech. How could she miss something so obvious? If that’s a sample of her logic, it’s a wonder she still has a law practice.

Sadly, the reaction got worse. Someone started a petition on Change.org calling on the Chiefs to fire Harrison Butker. The leadership of the NFL condemned him. And then some employee of Kansas City (on the Missouri side), having access to the Kansas City X account, posted the name of the town in which Butker lives.

Someone else (presumably a supervisor) deleted the post, and apologized.

The next day, Andrew Bailey, Attorney General of Missouri, demanded answers.

Still, on Friday (May 17), leaders of the nuns’ order that founded Benedictine College actually condemned the speech.

Whoopi Goldberg, co-hostess of The View, surprised everyone by calling on her fellow travelers to show respect for someone expressing a contrary point of view.

But two different accounts say that sales of Butker’s jersey are setting new records. Better still, the daughter of the team owner expressed her support of Butker.

Her point: Mrs. Owner stayed at home to raise her children.

Harrison Butker left an important message

Harrison Butker said a mouthful, and started a heated controversy. But the message he delivered is far more important than its immediate aftermath ever could be. Not often does a public performer deliver such an on-point and vital message.

In fact, the home is more than a dwelling place – though the Greek word for house finds its place in many modern words, in English and other European languages. Consider economics – the Laws of the House. (Or ecumenical – encompassing the inhabited world, the place where humans make their homes.)

Home is both the foundation of, and a monument to, a civilization. In this speech, Harrison Butker identified the elements that have threatened it for at least a century. CNAV Contributor Linda Goudsmit, author of the forthcoming Space is No Longer the Final Frontier; Reality Is,would certainly agree. Consider her treatment of the forty-fourth and forty-sixth Presidents of the United States, and the ideology both men follow.

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as “normal, natural, and healthy.”

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

These come from the Communist Goals, entered into the Congressional Record sixty-one years ago. So when Mike Freeman dares say:

There is no emasculation of men. It’s not happening. It has never happened. It’s a totally fabricated thing.

He’s lying.

Other, more dire threats

Nor did Harrison Butker name all the threats to the home. Bill Gates is buying up farmland, hoping to develop and grow a gigantic sheet mushroom to replace meat. Larry (the) Fink, CEO of BlackRock, is buying up single-family residences, hoping no doubt to raze them and replace them with high-rise dingbat dormitories. And The Walt Disney Company attacked the home directly, with its execrable live-action remake of its classic Snow White. Lay aside for a moment that it was actually “Snow Tan and the Seven Nondescripts.” The thrust of that project is to deprecate homemaking and emphasize purely secular leadership as a calling for women. (If you want a live-action Snow White project, German TV beat Disney to that particular punch in the last century. In fact, they did it twice!)

So kudos to Harrison Butker for kicking the most important field goal of his life on May 14, 2024. America will become a better place, as soon as it starts following his advice.