If the Oath of Office all elected officials are required to take is meaningless, the Republic is doomed.  I took an oath when I entered the military back in the mid-1960s and I have never gone back on that pledge.  I took it as a solemn promise to my nation and that promise is still valid in my heart today.

The Military Enlistment Oath we took was read by a superior officer and we repeated it.  I solemnly swore or affirmed that I would support and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic.  I did not think then that I might see a day when the enemies posing the greatest threat were domestic.  I pledged to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution and promised to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  We concluded with “So Help Me God.”  I felt I was promising my country and my God that I would faithfully perform the assigned duties in defending America.  That was serious to me then, and serious to me now.  I was raised to believe that a man’s word was his bond.

John Keats ended his Ode to a Grecian Urn with, “Truth is beauty, and beauty is truth – that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”  Those were lines from an early 19^th-century poet and may seem inconsequential, but they provide a window to view our postmodern relationship with the truth.  Today’s politicians are so loose with the truth, they would not know it if it were to bite them in the butt.

Politicians contain the same sentiments as that we were required to take entering the military.  Regardless of the office, they all PROMISE (Swear or Affirm) that they will support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.  That does not mean treat it like yesterday’s newspaper or toilet paper.  It means to understand it, adhere to it, and obey it.  It means to be governed by its guiding principles and not go beyond its limits. 

If the Oath of Office conveys any idea, it is that of patriotism, constitutionalism, law-abiding, and honesty.  Those words seem empty when applied to most modern politicians for they seem to be polar opposites of those values.  The words of John Henry Newman describe today’s politicians and much of our society perfectly.  He said, “A peculiar thing about humans is that they cannot accept something intellectually until they accept it emotionally.”  Many are unable to see the lies because they are emotionally invested in the lie or the ideology behind the lie.

There are those in our society who value truth and view it as something outside themselves, independent of their thoughts and feelings and is the goal to which they aspire.  It seems that truth is viewed as something to be envisioned but never possessed.  Why?  Because there is no commitment to practicing the virtues of truth.  To them, it is only a dream, idea, or theory.  Others see truth as something malleable, plastic, and utilitarian.  They believe that their truth is superior to any other truth and becomes THE TRUTH everyone must embrace.

As Christians, if we take an oath before God, we do so with a consciousness of the Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent Creator observing our words and actions.  If we fail to fulfill our promise or oath to Him there are eternal consequences.  No, I am not saying, God won’t forgive us if we fail. He will, but if we vow a vow to God, He expects us to keep our word.  He keeps His!  We should do all we do as unto the LORD and that means if we make a commitment to others, we should consider it a commitment to God.  Our Word is Our Bond!

In today’s society, especially in the realm of politics, I must ask, “Does experience or what we see in today’s world tell us that dishonesty is punished?”  I believe that the answer in politics is NO!  We watched the weaponizing of the FBI and other Intelligence Agencies and the blatant lies and distortions advanced by John Brennan, James Clapper, Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, Eric Holder, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and a myriad of other Leftists with ZERO PUNISHMENT.  The Media has ignored their violations and desertion from honesty but if there is a question or opportunity to paint a Republican or Conservative in a bad light it is 24/7/365 coverage. 

We have been lied to for years, if not decades, by the media and politicians and yet we keep drinking at their wells and sending the violators back to Washington to continue their dirty deeds.  Do we even care about the Oaths of Office required by politicians?  Do we even know what the Constitutional Requirements and Limits are?  I will not answer that question, but you know what I think.

The Oath of Office and Promise to protect and defend the Constitution implies the willingness to preserve it as well.  In the secular or any other world, truth has no value if its absence has no cost.  If you can play loose with the truth, violate the oath of office, bypass, and subvert the Constitutional directives and it cost you nothing, then the Oath is meaningless, and the Republic is doomed.  Are we there?

The Romantic movement of yesteryear and the political correctness, woke-ness, and cancel culture has opened Pandora’s box making individuals and their emotions the judge of what is true.  Truth is truth, no matter how we feel about it or what we desire.  Sadly, those of us on the opposite end of that spectrum and those are committed to protecting, defending, and preserving the Constitution of the United States have not developed an effective response.  I say that to remind each of us that it is imperative that we return to our moral moorings as a nation and return to God.  We must make Truth universal and transcendent and affix a cost to violation of that objective.  Unless we do so we will never find common ground and move forward as a culture. 

Politicians today seem to believe they are above the law and superior to the masses.  We, in their view, are useful tools to obtain and advance their agenda.  If we cease to be of service to them, they seek to silence, marginalize, or eliminate us by any means possible.  They believe that our Promises are to be kept but theirs are fluid and they take the Oath of Office only as a formality not as a reality or commitment.  It is time that we save the Republic and Fire them All.

God bless you and God bless America!