Listed below are the various oaths that are administered to the people entering each specific position:
The oath of enlistment for the military:
"I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
The oath for commissi0ned officers in the military:
"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."
The oath taken by Congress and Senators:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
The oath for the President of the United States:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
A common theme is contained in each oath, "defend the Constitution of the United States". Whether it is an elected leader or a volunteer member of our military, they have each sworn to defend the Constitution. With the exception of the oath for the President, they ALL have sworn that they will do what it takes to protect the Constitution "from ALL enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC."
This begs the question; where is the line, that once crossed, will transform a person from an ally to an enemy? The Founding Fathers recognized that a citizen can become a domestic enemy of our country. They even took it a step further, they understood the possibility of a political leader, a soldier, an officer in the military, or even the President could become an enemy of the Constitution.
Again, what defines a domestic enemy of the Constitution? What would one have to do? How far would one have to go in order for those in these sworn positions to invoke action to protect the Constitution? What would that action look like?
To some degree, our country and our Constitution have been under assault, domestically, for decades. It appears the progression of the attack has escalated over time to even include a total disregard of the law of the land. We currently have elected officials who have taken the above oath and appear to have a disdain for the protections the Constitution provides to the people. We have those in Congress who have stretched the meaning of certain phrases of the "living document" so that they no longer resemble the written word.
Obama stated that the Constitution is a "document of negative liberties." What perspective must you view the Constitution from, in order to have that opinion? A majority of "we the people" would read the Bill of Rights, not as a list of negative liberties to each of us, but a list of stated restrictions upon the federal government. The "Rights" enumerated do not restrict you and me, they limit what the politicians and bureaucrats do to or against us. In order to view these as "negative liberties", you would have to be seeing them from the viewpoint of how they limit what you would want to do to the people. To Obama, the Constitution is in his way. If taken seriously, it would stand in his way from pushing his agenda. Lucky for him, he does not care what it says. It's full-steam ahead!
If the liberal Democrats can use the Constitution against the conservative Republicans, they will. They will preach Rights with fervor. But, if their desires run contrary to the document, it is easily ignored.
With adversaries to the Constitution within the highest levels of our government, what are we to do? What are the sworn defenders to do? At what point is non-political action necessary? If there was never intended to be action to defend the Constitution from those who are domestically attempting to destroy its power and authority, why would each oath require such?
At the present time, with an election only days away, the action required is political. Every measure must be taken to help elect protectors of the Constitution. Conservative control of Congress is absolutely mandatory in order to begin to reverse the direction of the past two years. Anything less than that will bring the nation to the point of having to answer the above questions. God help us when the time comes to exercise those oaths.
The oath of enlistment for the military:
"I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
The oath for commissi0ned officers in the military:
"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."
The oath taken by Congress and Senators:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
The oath for the President of the United States:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
A common theme is contained in each oath, "defend the Constitution of the United States". Whether it is an elected leader or a volunteer member of our military, they have each sworn to defend the Constitution. With the exception of the oath for the President, they ALL have sworn that they will do what it takes to protect the Constitution "from ALL enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC."
This begs the question; where is the line, that once crossed, will transform a person from an ally to an enemy? The Founding Fathers recognized that a citizen can become a domestic enemy of our country. They even took it a step further, they understood the possibility of a political leader, a soldier, an officer in the military, or even the President could become an enemy of the Constitution.
Again, what defines a domestic enemy of the Constitution? What would one have to do? How far would one have to go in order for those in these sworn positions to invoke action to protect the Constitution? What would that action look like?
To some degree, our country and our Constitution have been under assault, domestically, for decades. It appears the progression of the attack has escalated over time to even include a total disregard of the law of the land. We currently have elected officials who have taken the above oath and appear to have a disdain for the protections the Constitution provides to the people. We have those in Congress who have stretched the meaning of certain phrases of the "living document" so that they no longer resemble the written word.
Obama stated that the Constitution is a "document of negative liberties." What perspective must you view the Constitution from, in order to have that opinion? A majority of "we the people" would read the Bill of Rights, not as a list of negative liberties to each of us, but a list of stated restrictions upon the federal government. The "Rights" enumerated do not restrict you and me, they limit what the politicians and bureaucrats do to or against us. In order to view these as "negative liberties", you would have to be seeing them from the viewpoint of how they limit what you would want to do to the people. To Obama, the Constitution is in his way. If taken seriously, it would stand in his way from pushing his agenda. Lucky for him, he does not care what it says. It's full-steam ahead!
If the liberal Democrats can use the Constitution against the conservative Republicans, they will. They will preach Rights with fervor. But, if their desires run contrary to the document, it is easily ignored.
With adversaries to the Constitution within the highest levels of our government, what are we to do? What are the sworn defenders to do? At what point is non-political action necessary? If there was never intended to be action to defend the Constitution from those who are domestically attempting to destroy its power and authority, why would each oath require such?
At the present time, with an election only days away, the action required is political. Every measure must be taken to help elect protectors of the Constitution. Conservative control of Congress is absolutely mandatory in order to begin to reverse the direction of the past two years. Anything less than that will bring the nation to the point of having to answer the above questions. God help us when the time comes to exercise those oaths.
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