A Republic If We Can Keep It
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all People are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among People, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
With these words, people on this continent began freeing themselves from non-representative rule. They designed a democratic constitutional republic in hopes of protecting their progeny from unjust rule. In the centuries since, many have sworn an oath to defend the constitution, from enemies for foreign and domestic, whatever the personal cost may be.
I’m Ninja Jim. I was administered the Oath to uphold and defend the Constitution upon military enlistment. It felt momentous at the time; signing, as they say, a blank check up to and including my life. Momentous as it felt, imagination could not foresee what would be asked of us, Alpha 3/75, or the longterm cost incurred by us and our loved ones. In harms way we honored the Oath and lived the Ranger Creed, answering every ask.
And now, the asks exceed what any among us can offer. Only as a united people, committed to the spirit of equality and liberty, expressed in our nations founding documents, can the noble Oath be fulfilled and the Constitution upheld.
We the People of the United States,
in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and
secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
The Framers of our Constitution were clear about the role of government and to design a governance structure their intent but not certain that the form of government that they designed would address the problem. (put in federalist and anti-federalist quotes)
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
“I, [my name], do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all threats, 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 work to secure the rights of all: So help me God.”
In so far as you are living the oath within your abilities, you are hereby empowered to administer the same to those who likewise desire to make real the great ideals of our nation’s founding.
