Miss Swift and Mr. Kelce

Announce Their Engagement

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At one time the announcement would read, “Mr. and Mrs. ‘Swift,’ announce the engagement of their daughter, Taylor, to Mr. Travis Kelce, tight end for Kansas City Chiefs.” That was then.

The world was a more genteel place. Ladies only had their names appear in print upon their births, marriages and (ahem) funerals. Now that we live in an anything-goes-let-it-all-hang-out era, Miss Swift and Mr. Kelce splashed themselves over social media and billions of us were informed of the blessed event mere seconds after it took place.

The reaction has been worldwide, just as ‘swift', and loud. I won’t list the congratulations and condemnations here. The hubbub was impossible to escape for a few days. No doubt readers know, or can guess, the gist of them; and by the way, delight is the uniquely de rigeur expression for newly engaged couples. But the inspiration provided by a particularly sour take, with which I disagree, brings me to write this column.

Here is my take: now Taylor Swift can quit her singing career and thus fulfill another American tradition, sorely absent as of late.

When I was a kid and the world was a better place, women typically retired from the gauche demands of a job upon the occasion of their marriages. That was when a husband’s single income sufficed to support an entire family and material expectations were not so grandiose.

To that end, I assume Miss Swift has earned enough to retire, and Mr. Kelce’s salary alone is large enough on which to raise a family in the manner that his beloved is accustomed. For of course they should, they ought, they must raise a family. After all, how could they even consider letting those rip-roaring genes fall by the wayside?

I don’t care who you are or what you do for a living, women and men are meant to get married, settle down and make babies. The more the better. The more babies, that is. Nothing changes this fundamental truth. Except perhaps the efforts and failing, of a few and very sour, refuseniks.

As for Mr. Kelce, he is striking out on his true pathway as a provider and protector of his wife and future children. That means putting aside his own wants and needs for the sake of his family. Until now his life has been a dress rehearsal for his calling to serve; for selfless sacrifice is the hallmark of a man’s life. It is this complete giving of oneself to family, work, community that makes men the most prolific and profound, of givers.

In a society that too often believes it is better to receive than to give, this view and expectation of manhood has suffered a precipitous decline. Yet the moral foundation and the well being of the human race depends on it. Mr. Kelce, indeed every man, accepts this assignment, imprinted as it is in our very humanity. Thus, we congratulate Mr. Kelce and Miss Swift and root for their every success in this civilization-preserving commitment to a lifetime of service to each other and the family they will create together.

For happiness is achieved not outside of ourselves, not in receiving something we think we want, but through sacrifice in service to others. And we congratulate Taylor and Travis in undertaking this true calling. It’s a big job, but from the looks of things, they are up to the task.