Michael Harbin | Contributor
The vice president of the United States has agreed to speak at commencement - what an opportunity for Taylor to shine.
Here we can show that we differ from the contemporary college culture which attempts to suppress voices that deviate from a perceived norm. Yes, we have our differences, but the question is can we allow others to express differing opinions, or will we follow our culture and disallow speakers because some people deem them offensive?
Clearly many do not like President Trump. That opinion has been expressed in strong terms, some of which can only be described as hate speech (as seen in anonymous phone calls that I and others at Taylor have received simply because we work at Taylor).
However, this is really not about Trump. While the media (especially the social media) seems to have framed the dissenting vote in that context, in many respects the vote rationale really seems to be concern about how our students and our culture - a culture that has been described as "post-truth" - would respond.
Vice President Pence has been described as a man of integrity and character who lives out his faith in a corrosive environment. I think it would be great for our graduates who are about to go out into an increasingly anti-Christian environment (yes, out of that so-called bubble) to hear about how one might do that. How does one work for a boss who seems to act arbitrarily and seemingly stands against many things that one believes? And in the process, we might just learn that there is a lot going on behind the scenes in our present administration that our extremely biased media does not publicize.
Personally, I do not like President Trump. He was not my choice for president, and I find some of his actions embarrassing and at times offensive. In Romans 13, Paul admonishes his readers to "be in subjection to the governing authorities." As a reminder, the emperor at the time was Nero, described by his page on History.com as "the most infamous of Rome's emperors," who is noted for his debaucheries, political murders and extreme persecution of Christians. His victims included both Paul and Peter. Paul goes on say that "there is no authority except from God" (and that includes both Emperor Nero and President Trump). Our challenge is, can we rise above our personal likes and dislikes and see thing in a broader perspective? In this regard, I pray for President Trump daily - as I have done for each of his predecessors regardless of their political views.
In our politicized age, everything seems to be scrutinized for its political implications. But let's be honest - Taylor doesn't carry much political impact, like say Harvard or Notre Dame. If that is the case, then it would seem that Vice President Pence agreeing to speak at Taylor did not have significant political overtones. If so, then what does having Vice President Pence speak at commencement say?
To me it says that our graduates are significant enough for the future of our country that the vice president of the United States is willing to take an entire day out of his busy schedule to celebrate them. If I were graduating, I would see that as a high honor, something that I would remember the rest of my life and would want to tell my grandkids about.
We have a rare opportunity. Can Taylor take this opportunity to show our Christian character? Or will we show that we are so molded by our culture that we cannot rise above it?