Dear Editor,
“I saved you,” cried the woman. “And you’ve bitten me, but why?
You know your bite is poisonous and now I’m going to die.”
“Oh shut up, silly woman,” said the reptile with a grin.
“You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in”
“The Snake” by Oscar Brown, 1962
The Editorial Board deserves credit for a nifty end run around reality for endorsing a commencement invitation for President Trump to speak. Team Trump couldn’t have executed the play better. Disingenuously adopting a facially reasonable position, while the true intent was to exploit the weakness of good willed people to enter into dialogue, confident that truth, facts and reason will prevail. After all, a plurality of the American electorate fell for this ruse.
For the most part, our souls are not lost in some grand Faustian bargain for wealth or power, although there seems to be a lot of that in the air. Rather, our souls erode over time, bit by bit.
The University has already capitulated on DEI. Perhaps it has over 154,039,000 good reasons to (federal grant dollars in fiscal year 2024). You can say, “We just changed a few words.” Diversity, equity and inclusion are among the bedrock foundation of our Christianity. “But look what we can get in return,” you might reason.
By giving in, even just a little, we are complicit in diminishing our own souls. Trump was able to buy compliance and complacency.
On a good day, Trump is amoral — lacking empathy, compassion and reason. He is the closest embodiment of an anti-Christ to ascend to the world stage in my lifetime. Pretending he is some variation of “normal” diminishes us all and shrinks our souls.
Notre Dame may have a commencement speech tradition, but traditions shouldn’t endure “just because.” A tradition without value is just silliness, something we just do because we just do. To be lasting and meaningful, our tradition should only be extended to the worthy. Our great University should send a message to Trump: “President or not, you are not worthy.”
If allowed to ascend to the commencement stage, Trump would bellow: “Oh shut up, silly people! You knew damn well I was a snake before you invited me in!”
Our community should not invite him in.
Kevin F. Smith
class of 1970
Feb. 20
