For those of you who haven't heard, it was announced late last week that Obama is giving Notre Dame's commencement address this year. Obviously, Notre Dame is made up for the most part of conservative republicans, but even with this in mind I didn't predict the reaction to Obama would be so strong.
If anyone is interested, I suggest you go here to read some of the letters to the editor in the school newspaper:
http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/paper660/sections/20090323Viewpoint.html
Some of my favorite quotes are "Notre Dame students deserve better", "My 40-year love affair with the University of Notre Dame - as student, alumna and parent - came to a sad and abrupt end upon learning the news of the invitation of Barack Obama to receive an honorary law degree and speak at my child's graduation.", and "The founders are rolling in their graves, right down the road in Holy Cross Cemetery."
While I thought most of the articles were pretty funny I actually did think that the fact nearly every letter called for Notre Dame to retract their invitation to Obama was a little over-the-top. Although I am not exactly a fan of Obama's I have to admit that I am a little jealous he did not speak at our commencement (we had the president of Ireland). I think any chance to have a current President speak at commencement would be a great opportunity, regardless of their politics. It seems like most people are upset because he is opposed to some Catholic beliefs, namely embryonic stem cell research and abortion. I do think (or hope) his speech will not focus on his politics, especially in such a conservative environment, but I guess that remains to be seen.
I know you people have opinions-what are your thoughts on this? Do you think Notre Dame students/alumni are rightfully outraged at having a commencement speaker that is opposed to some of their religious values, or do you think that having a President at commencement, regardless of his politics, is an honor that people aren't appreciating?
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10 comments:
I picked up on this story earlier. I figured I'd give you the first shot at it, and I'm glad you took it.
I don't care for it just because of the fact that you're talking about the single biggest advocate for all types of abortion, including live-birth, partial-birth, and infanticide. I thought that the higher-ups at Notre Dame should have had their base more in their minds as they made the decision.
That being said, I definitely agree with you about having the current President speak at commencement. However, for a school that is founded and backed by its religious beliefs, I think it's a poor choice given his stance on many issues.
Haha-rarely do I care enough about political issues to post so I appreciate you giving me a chance! I guess I wish as a school they wouldn't have invited him to begin with (of course now its too late), but I know as a student I would have appreciated it anyway,whether I agree with him or not. Depending on what he actually talks about may change my opinion, but I would be shocked if he speaks of anything that may be controversial.
Also, I have to admit I'm trying to talk cory into attending his commencement so I can hear him speak.
Do you think he was invited or do you think he may have invited himself? I'm thinking the latter, for the last two weeks he is running around like he is still campaigning for President. Think about it Notre Dame is the perfect conservative school for him to spread his message and the liberal media to slobber over him once again.
Personally I don't have a problem with him being there and giving a commencement address I think it is a great opportunity for the graduating class. I wouldn't mind seeing any President speak other than Clinton.
I would only worry if Barney Frank shows up.
thats an interesting idea
i guess now that he is coming i would go if i could but to do things over i don't think he should have been invited.
he is slowing undoing the progress made for right to life. as you well know that is one of the church's fundamental stances and beliefs. it is who we are as catholics to respect life from conception.
if our differences were only political, how to deal with the economy, even gay marriage then i would have a different stance.
as john said his stance on abortion has been made very clear, especially partial birth which can't be justified under any reason.
he is a good speaker so i am sure he will be interesting to listen to.
I find it kind of sad that people are calling for Notre Dame to retract their invitation. I'd be excited to know that the President was speaking at a commencement at my school!
I think that people should give him a chance & see what he has to say. If he goofs it all up, that's one thing, but I think we should give him a chance to speak at the event before we judge what he'll say.
But he's already said things that the Catholic church doesn't support. I don't think he'll use that forum to further speak on his right to life beliefs. I would think he would focus on what the future holds as far these young people entering the job market.
I guess it just winds down to what ND wants to be about. Do they want to follow the "anyone can be Catholic for 4 years" mindset? Or do they want to stand on principle and the foundation on which they were established? I can guarantee that BHO won't remind many ND students why they didn't vote for him.
Back to what my Dad said about campaigning. We used to joke around by saying "how many days will it take him to start up his run for 2012?" However, it's now become a sad reality that this is exactly what he's been doing. He's even receiving funds from the Democratic National Committee to go out and promote his agenda. It seems like he'd be more focused on actually doing the grunt work of shaping these ideas and how they should be implemented, rather than being a salesman. That's what your press secretary is for, and even if BHO went out every now and then - that'd be fine.
I think one thing that a lot of people can agree on is that GWB brought a certain amount of class to the oval office (i.e. always wearing a suit and tie, giving appropriate gifts to foreign powers), but this freshman attitude we've gotten out of BHO leaves a little to be desired.
it isn't about what he is going to say, it is what he stands for. one of the basic tenants of the church is respect for all life. he doesn't believe in those fundamental beliefs of the church. worse, he is undoing the progress that was made in that area.
he shouldn't have been invited. at some point one has to stand for their beliefs.
i am sure he will give a nice speech and respect the church's teachings and not bring our differences up. i least i hope so.
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