Gov. Ron DeSantis is giving graduates of Ave Maria University the best present possible: a commencement speech in which he urged them to don the “full armor of God” to fight for Liberty against those who would subvert the struggle.
DeSantis spent much of the early part of speech lauding the Naples Catholic institution for “doing it the right way” in contrast to other faith-based schools that are “Catholic in name only.”
“What passes for scandal here is when someone fails to genuflect at mass. It’s a pretty good culture you got there. And then here at Ave Maria University, you are doing it the right way. You are not being swept up in the spirit of the age. Instead, you have a university that regards faith and reason as complimentary. And that can provide a lens for which we can find the truth. You have rigorous, classical liberal arts education not rooted in passing fads and the latest ideological joyrides that we see in so many other universities, but in rigor and in the promotion of traditional, moral virtues. You also have faith as the foundation, not just for academic life, but also for campus culture,” he said Saturday.
DeSantis said that graduates of the University, like him, aren’t looking simply to “conform” their faith to the age, but look to transform the era through “the truth that ultimately will set you free.”
“The truth is not subject to a popular vote, and it is not subject to popular fads,” DeSantis said. “North is still north and right is still right, even when you have to stand by yourself.”
DeSantis also discussed the state’s America 250 celebration, noting that the Founding Fathers gave everything to establish an independent or free nation.
“They all would have been put to death for treason,” he said, had the “conservative revolution” failed.
DeSantis related the “enduring principles” they promulgated to today’s struggles, urging graduates to “keep faith with those timeless political truths” as Florida has in working to “carry the torch” through efforts to “preserve freedom during COVID,” protect parental rights, defeat “pernicious ideologies,” and roll back abortion rights.
He cautioned graduates that “leadership is not cost-free,” describing “blowback” from “the elites and the media” that his administration endured.
DeSantis also expressed concerns about AI, saying “faithful Catholics” understand that people can’t “be governed by the almighty algorithm.”
Whatever line of work graduates go into, he urged them to understand their “responsibility to preserve that sacred fire of liberty” that animated American history during the nation’s greatest struggles against those who would undermine it.
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