My testimony as submitted to Oath Keepers

If you are (or were) military or law enforcement, you took an oath to defend the US Constitution "against all enemies, foreign and domestic". Hopefully you recognise that the oath had no expiration date. Furthermore you should recognise that the political class and their blatant disregard for the oath is no example for a patriot to follow.

The Oath Keepers were formed for the purpose of reminding us of our oath, and to renew the commitment we made and clarify how that applies in the current political environment where the Constitution is being turned into nothing more than a door mat.

What follows is my own testimony that I submitted to Oath Keepers. I pray continually for the success of this effort to renew support for the Rule of Law (as opposed to the tyranny of man).

I have long been considering how exactly I want to articulate my views regarding the oath. It’s fine line that I’m walking here. On one hand I want to be truthful and clearly express myself, and on the other hand I don’t care to trigger an unwelcome midnight visit by heavily armed masked men intent on introducing me to the “next world”.

My original oath was rendered in the late 70’s when I was barely 17 years old. I certainly took the oath seriously in that I did not join the Marines for job training or college funding. But little did I realize that I was in essence writing the nation a blank check that eventually could come due - payable in my own blood. And furthermore, at that tender age I saw threats to the nation in the form of communism or creeping materialism, but never did I imagine that the most deadly threat would one day take the form of our own government.

Now it has come to pass that the Republic is still threatened by many powerful external foes long present in our history, as well as new equally deadly threats from within. It is apparent to me that the most dangerous threat of all comes from our own politicians who are vigorously trampling the Constitution, either from gross ignorance or in their quest for increased power.

The electorate consists of legions of people who have learned to “vote for a living” without the least concern for the welfare of the nation, and they are being aided and abetted by a political class who has learned that buying votes is the surest way to consolidate their hold on power. With no one concerned about such abstract ideas as liberty, justice, or the rule of law, the ship of state lumbers forward through a deepening fog with no competent master at the helm. It’s only a matter of time before she runs aground on the rocks and shoals of economic disaster, nuclear terrorism, or unrestricted illegal immigration.

I desperately want to believe that when worse comes to worst our police and military will refuse to obey the orders that lead to totalitarianism, but to be bluntly honest I don’t put much faith in the thought that they will. For entirely too many people the paycheck or power trumps their principles. They may know what’s right, but having the courage to do it is a different story altogether.

So to carry the ship analogy just a bit farther, as America voyages on in deepening darkness, I am resolved that I will not dishonor myself and my oath. I am resolved that my faith will remain locked on Jesus, my family, my rifle, and my friends. I will not be disarmed. I will not surrender my liberty. And I will not suffer an oppressive government for my children or grandchildren.

May God give me the strength and courage to fulfill my oath to the utmost, and may he continue to shed his grace on the United States of America.