Published – Idaho State Journal, 03/25/12
On January 20, 2009, President-elect Barack Hussein Obama
stood in front of the portico on the west side of the U.S. Capital and recited
an oath administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The
promise Obama made was, "I do
solemnly swear 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."
Officers in our
military take a similar oath, when they avow, "I, [name], do solemnly
swear 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."
Even local law
enforcement and first responders take a similar oath to support the
Constitution. At all levels, those to whom are entrusted our safety, security,
and lawful tranquility, swear or aver that they will support the Constitution
of the United States. For military personnel especially, this is considered a
lifetime oath, not just for their term in active duty.
Those who take oaths
to uphold the Constitution should be expected to keep them. Clearly from what
we see emerging from Washington these days, many who take the oath
perfunctorily and cavalierly, don’t feel a compulsion to keep it. This has lead
to the emergence of an organization dedicated to keeping the oath.
The Oathkeepers
(Oathkeepers.org) distinguish themselves from those who simply take the oath,
and promise instead to actually “keep” it based on key provisions of the
Constitution itself. They list ten things they will not do if so ordered, for
any one would be anathema to the rights assured to all American citizens by our
founding legal codex. The violation of any of these would constitute the most
egregious, and totalitarian disembowelment of our fundamental liberties.
The Oathkeepers
declare that they will not obey orders to: 1) disarm the
American people; 2) conduct warrantless searches of the American people; 3)
detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to
military tribunal; 4) impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state;
5) invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty; 6) blockade American
cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps; 7) force American
citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext; 8) assist or support
the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep
the peace” or to “maintain control;"9) confiscate the property of the American people,
including food and other essential supplies; or 10) infringe on the right of
the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their
government for a redress of grievances.
As fundamental as those “guaranteed” rights
are to all Americans, there really is nothing controversial to the basic tenets
of the group. What should be controversial is that we have politicians who, as
evidenced by their legislation and executive orders, are opening the door to
abuse of the most basic rights of our republic. They take the oath, but
obviously have no intention of keeping it. That’s what should be alarming, and
controversial, to all of us.
Those rights that Oathkeepers vow to uphold
are promised by the Constitution to all of us, regardless of race, creed, political
affiliation, or ideology. These truly are fundamental, and are not reliant on
narrow or limited constitutional interpretation, but are generally accepted
rights and privileges for all Americans.
In light of that, there really should be no
American citizen unwilling to take, and keep, the same oath to support our
basic constitutional rights that our president, our military, and our first
responders take. In fact, if our politicians kept their oaths, there would be
no need for the Oathkeepers. National legislation, like the National Defense
Authorization Act, and executive orders, like the National Defense Resources
Preparedness order from just last week, have opened the door to abuses of those
very rights.
Mike Chism, a Pocatello resident who serves as
the Idaho Chapter President for the national Oathkeepers organization, said
they’re giving all citizens an opportunity to take the oath. City Councilman
Jim Johnston will administer it on Wednesday the 28th at 6 p.m. in
the Vision 12 Studio at City Hall. Said Chism, “Any American Citizen who wishes
to either reaffirm their Oath, if they have once taken it, or any other Citizen
who never has taken it, we’re offering that opportunity.”
AP award winning
columnist Richard Larsen is President of Larsen Financial, a brokerage and
financial planning firm in Pocatello, and is a graduate of Idaho State
University with a BA in Political Science and History and former member of the
Idaho State Journal Editorial Board. He
can be reached at rlarsenen@cableone.net.