The U.S. Constitution

 Today, January 5, 2011, 435 members of Congress will raise their right hands and take the following oath:

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.

U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C.

This is nothing new; the oath has been sworn by members of Congress since the creation of our Constitution in 1787. The problem is that the oath is often forgotten or ignored. In fact, to help members better fulfill their oath, the House will not only read the Constitution aloud on Thursday, 1/6/11, but also adopt a rule requiring that every bill cite what specific provisions of the Constitution empower Congress to enact it. If followed, that rule should serve to rein in much of the outlandish cradle-to-grave protective legislation and other nonsense coming out of Washington. Yet, isn't it a shame such a rule is needed?

Constitution of the United States of America

I took a very similar oath upon my enlistment into the U.S. Air Force in 1968:

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; 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. 

I consider myself to be still under that oath, up to the references to the President (Commander-in-Chief) and the officers appointed over me. Obviously, since my discharge I am no longer bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. However, my promise to support and willingness to defend our Constitution continues to this day. That’s one reason I traveled to Washington D.C. last April to participate in the Second Amendment March on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

Second Amendment March, Washington DC, April 2010

As the saying goes, the 2^nd Amendment is the amendment that protects all the others. Our forefathers realized an armed population is necessary for our defense from enemies both within and outside our country’s borders. In addition, they believed self-defense is a God-given right, and therefore made sure U.S. citizens were guaranteed the right to bear arms.

Let’s keep our collective fingers crossed that our federal government really is led by and limited to the powers outlined in that fine, old Constitution. We could do (and have done) much worse. 

Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;–let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children’s liberty.

~28-year-old Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1838