While Harrison Butker said quite a few controversial and outrageous things during his commencement address at Benedictine College, extolling the virtues of being a homemaker should not be considered one of them.
On May 11, the placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs delivered the commencement address at Benedictine College, a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas.
In the aftermath of the speech, the wife-and-mother has been thrust into the culture war. As with most of these assaults, statements are taken out of context and ideas are weaponized. We also tend to miss the nuance of what can be complicated decisions.
Butker told the crowd: “I’m on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m 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.”
If you read or listen to his words carefully, you’ll notice Butker is praising his wife Isabelle and thanking her. He’s not demeaning her or the other women in the auditorium. Rather, he is extolling the virtues of homemaking.