By Brandon Showalter, graduate student of Catholic University’s M.A. in Human Rights.
As final exams loom large and the fall semester draws to a close, the Human Rights Masters degree cohort was privileged to meet and connect with one of the preeminent public intellectuals in the United States who is also one of the most influential natural law thinkers in the world. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the MA program.
We gathered in Washington, DC with Princeton University’s Dr. Robert P. George on Friday, December 3. The esteemed professor of jurisprudence conversed with us about the state of affairs, particularly regarding current threats to free speech/cancel culture and the necessity of reclaiming the professional sphere of human rights advocacy including the language that presently shapes contemporary discourse on the subject. We also discussed the Supreme Court’s hearing of the Dobbs case earlier that week concerning abortion, which could chip away at or completely overturn the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which asserted, contrary to natural law and to the Constitution’s text, that abortion was a protected right under the 14th amendment.
Congenial and engaging, George spoke of past and present battles over the inherent dignity of the human person, stressing that what is most needed nowadays is the virtue of courage.
All in all, it was a great day engaging a great man of extraordinary scholastic accomplishment, a happy warrior for all that is good and true.
If we ever have the chance to meet him again, we’ll ask him to bring his banjo.
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