Both Oars In Obama and ND: Yes and No Thank You

Apr 3, 2009

Water will just have to wait again. Why? Because blood is thicker than water, and there is a family matter that needs to be addressed: Should President Obama speak at the commencement of our nation’s most loved and prestigious Catholic university and be given an honorary degree in law?

How is that a family matter? All Catholics, especially Irish ones, are related to Notre Dame in some manner, or at least we claim to be. Although not an alum, I do have several familial and personal connections.  I have a brother who is a law school grad and an uncle. My maternal grandfather, a friend of the Four Horsemen, graduated from Notre Dame in 1925.  Over the past decade, I have dug holes, cleaned up trash, scrubbed bathrooms and operated a school in Haiti with the annual help of volunteers from ND’s amazing pool of dedicated, service-minded graduates. The sum of my heritage and experience tells me Notre Dame is a great place—a national treasure. No wonder that what happens there matters to so many.

I have also been asked by numerous ND alums, young and old, and pro-life friends what I think on the matter of President Obama being asked to speak at Notre Dame’s commencement. It is a tough question, one that, I imagine, is dividing even some biological families of multi-generational alums.

Some will say that this is much to do about nothing, but those are people who are not likely to do much about anything. For the more dedicated and zealous, the ire and concern on both sides is understandable and commendable.  There are few principles worth greater dedication and fervor than Freedom of Speech and Academic Independence and none more deserving of staunch defense than the Sanctity of Life. For this reason, the debate over Mr. Obama speaking at Notre Dame goes far beyond the Catholic family—it is a moral and ethical question of general import in a free country such as the United States.

When ethics and morals are involved, the best solution to competing interests is not compromise, but a cooperative effort to the get to the truth of the matter. Hopefully, there exists a path to meet the goals of all parties involved without offending any party’s rights or principles. In this case, this can be accomplished by differentiating between the office and the man.

Fr. Jenkins, ND’s current president, and Fr. Hesburgh, the famed and revered president emeritus, are both correct in defending President Obama’s invitation as part of a tradition to invite U.S. presidents to speak at commencement. Mr. Obama is a fine and already historically important U.S. president.  In accord with his office, he is most deserving of the invitation to speak. To date, he has conducted himself honorably and deserves all the respect due his office. One would hope that the sitting president would be a welcome speaker at any of our nation’s universities.  

Mr. Obama is also the Commander-in-Chief. Proudly, there are over 200 ROTC cadets in ND’s student body.  Notre Dame also counts both famous and unsung heroes of government and civil service among her alumni.  It would be disingenuous to form men and women for military, civil and political service for four years, yet disallow the appearance of their Commander-in-Chief and future boss at graduation. 

On the other hand, I do not believe that Mr. Obama should be given or accept an honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame.  The conferring of an honorary degree goes beyond showing respect for the Office, to the person. Given Mr. Obama’s individual and public decision to sign executive orders in support of abortion and embryonic stem cell research, the conferring and accepting of such an honor from an institution adamant about the inviolability of life would seem inauthentic. Just as a couple usually has plenty of conversations about differences in beliefs before marriage, Notre Dame and Mr. Obama need to have much more dialogue on their matter of disagreement before cementing an enduring relationship.  I do not think they should leave that to the honeymoon, as has been suggested by many.

Given the public nature of the debate and the seriousness of the issues, it is time for behavior of the most ethical and inspiring nature. As Mr. Obama recognized the need for AIG employees to do the right thing, he must surely recognize that this is a moment for him to voluntarily do the right thing as well.  Mr. Obama ought to decline consideration for an honorary degree while whole heartedly accepting the invitation to speak to the inspiring youth of Notre Dame as the leader of this great nation.   Such an authentic act would signal that he is truly open to the dialogue on life matters that Father Jenkins hopes the invitation to speak will begin.