This afternoon, I had the pleasure of watching my dearest friend’s daughter receive her commission in the Air Force, where she took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic.
In roughly a month, we will watch our president-elect take a similar oath.
I also read an article today that alleges that some folks, inclusive of a certain retired and disgraced military “leader,” are calling for the U.S. military to keep the 45th president in power – urging the current occupant of the White House to declare martial law. (IMHO, this dude needs to be stripped of his military status, pension and whatever benefits he receives as a retired “leader.”)
Are you effing kidding me? What in the name of all that is sensible is that? Every member of the United States military swears allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. Every member of the federal government takes that oath, as well. They do not swear to defend and protect a person or an office. They swear to uphold, defend and protect the Constitution. This is their allegiance to the protection and defense of their fellow citizens, and in the case of elected officials, the people they claim to represent.
These very obviously insane people missed the most important part of both military personnel and government officials’ induction into their exclusive groups: they all swore to uphold and defend the United States Constitution; to not do this would be dereliction of duty. I don’t know about you, but the people that I know in the military are honorable and duty-bound. And most of them know the difference between the duty they swore to their country and fealty to an individual (which is not part of their oath.) We are not a monarchy, even if we are an oligarchy wearing democracy’s party dress.
Watching the young woman I’ve known all of her life raise her right hand and take the oath made me, I’ll be honest, a bit weepy. This little girl, and all of those before and after her, is the future of the armed forces. Young people just like her will swear to protect you and me – and then spend their lives actually doing it. To think that there are people within the chain of command that might not? That is just something that I hope is an anomaly. I believe in the honor of military and civil service; the honor bestowed on those who uphold the law of the land on behalf of the people; the honor of service which is central to these institutions.
We’ve watched, some of us in horror, as these institutions that we believed to be the fabric of our nation have been torn asunder. As once-honorable people have shown themselves to be easily corrupted and cowed. As what once was difference of opinion has become caustic rifts. Oh, how I long for honor to be the rule rather than the exception.
We are on our way, I think. The pendulum has swung back to the side of honor and decency, and our newest 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force represents honor, decency, tenacity and perseverance – I know this first-hand.
May this new class of military personnel, sworn in during a raging pandemic, remember and uphold the oath they have taken.
God Bless America.