Advice From a Conservative Ivy League Prof to Graduating Seniors
Toward the end of each academic year, the senior class of Princeton University hosts “Last Lectures” in which members of the faculty are invited to give advice to the graduating seniors as they prepare to move on to graduate programs or into their professional careers. I have frequently given these, and today I had the pleasure of giving one jointly with my colleague and friend Amaney Jamal. Although the theme was “active citizenship,” and I offered some thoughts and advice a…bout that, I also took the opportunity to urge them not to wait too long to get married and have children. This is advice young people–especially young overachievers–rarely hear. Yet it it the most important advice. I realize that not everyone is called to the vocation of marriage, but most are. And we have become a culture that fails to teach our young people about the dignity and importance of marriage and the joy and blessing of children. It is almost as if people are afraid to say anything about it, leaving young people with the impression that what matters most are professional success, money, prestige, social standing, etc. Of course it is possible for people to make the error of marrying while still too young. And I don’t want to encourage that. But what seems more common these days is people delaying marriage until their late thirties or even forties and then not having children, or trying to deal with infertility issues. Anyway, family success is far more important, and more central to human flourishing and happiness, than career success, wealth, social standing, and the like. And grown ups shouldn’t be afraid to say so when speaking with young people.
Robert George is Chairman at United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, McCormick Professor of Juriprudence at Princeton University, Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, and author of Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism.
Trending Now on Affluent Christian Investor
Sorry. No data so far.
Follow Us
The Affluent Mix
Government Spending And Your Heart Rate March 4, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Tucker Carlson Ices Industrial Policy By Criticizing Wind Power... March 4, 2021 | Roger McKinney
What This Supply Chain ‘Mood Ring’ Tells Us About The Recovery... March 4, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Internet Oligarchs Attack Free Speech March 3, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Envy And Human Nature March 3, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
This Data Shows How Weird This Recession Was... March 3, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Another Theologian Falls For Socialism February 17, 2021 | Roger McKinney
GDP Bounced Back, Sort Of February 17, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Apathy And Envy For All February 17, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
The Global Stock Market Decompression February 17, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Why Things Are Bad And What You Should Do About It... February 17, 2021 | Terry Applegate
Gamestop Scandal: Who Is The Real Culprit?... February 11, 2021 | Roger McKinney
Who Has Economic Mobility? Everyone! February 11, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
Biden Deletes China COVID Evidence February 11, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
How Companies Pay Shareholders: High Earnings Quality Companies Do More Buybacks... February 11, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Volatility Vs. Capital Erosion February 11, 2021 | David Bahnsen
When Will The Party End? February 11, 2021 | Michael Pento
Back To Buybacks: Is It More About Dilution Than Concentration?... February 11, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Even Amnesty International Is Criticizing Facebook Censorship... February 5, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
The War On Poverty’s Results February 5, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
How Companies Pay Shareholders: Total Shareholder Payout A Better Approach?... February 5, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Interest Rate Threshold Keeps Dropping February 5, 2021 | Michael Pento
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.