What is an Oath?

Two weeks ago, when I picked up papers to run for an elected local office (community college trustee) I swore to and signed an Oath of Office. Except for the specifics to the California State Constitution, it is the same oath taken by anyone that enters service to the United States of America. The Oath of Office in California is required through Article XX, Section 3 of the State’s constitution. The oath reads:

“I, [Name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.”

I had cause to reflect on this oath today as I recalled the memory of a student I had not so many years ago in my Government/Economics class, and the oath he took after graduation. The class was part of the Public Service Academy in the public high school I taught at, and most students had the career goals of firefighter, police, border patrol, military, and other public services. The student’s name was Hunter Lopez, a Corporal in the United States Marines. Hunter tragically fulfilled his oath with the ultimate sacrifice, along with 12 of his brothers and sisters in Arms, on August 26, 2021, in Afghanistan. Hunter Lopez was a public service-oriented individual, from a public service-oriented family–a positive and upbeat kid that could instantly improve one’s bad mood with an infectious smile.

As I reflected on Hunter’s memory, dedication, and the ultimate sacrifice he made to fulfill his oath, I began to contemplate how deadly serious that oath can be. An oath to one’s Country should not be treated like a giggly rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner at the DNC.

I also realized just how unserious too many national and local elected officials are towards the oath, and how some may have forgotten the words in the oath or the concept they swore to protect and defend altogether. Not to mention those that intentionally break their oath for personal gain, be it wealth or power.

We The People

 In the last few years, countless American citizens braved being shunned by their indoctrinated fellow citizens and ridiculed in the local press-not to mention being labeled domestic terrorists by the Biden Crime Family-to speak up at school board meetings about atrocious gender ideology indoctrination, CRT/DEI concepts in the curriculum, school closures, and mask and vaccine mandates, only to be told by board members that “it’s out of our hands, we have to do what the State tells us to do.”  

That could be true if the laws cited align with the United States Constitution. But if they do not, the elected official’s duty in order to fulfill their oath is to fight for the people to their last ounce of energy. Hunter Lopez and his twelve brothers and sisters did not waver or shirk from their oath when faced with danger. Elected officials should show the same courage when presented with a clearly unconstitutional law, regulation, or code. There are tools and precedents available to them.

The Supreme Court of the United States concluded in the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison that “any law that is repugnant to the Constitution is null and void.”

The opening of the United States Constitution reads:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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 Preamble and Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution reads respectively:

“We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings, do establish this Constitution.”

“All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.”

Any government that embraces force to impose their ideology, or that passes laws or regulations that are detrimental to the general welfare, domestic tranquility, or to liberty and happiness should be considered repugnant to the Constitution and fought against tooth and nail. If California, for example, can become a “Sanctuary State” for illegal immigrants and child mutilation, shouldn’t local governments have the ability to declare themselves sanctuaries from California tyranny? 

A government that will indoctrinate children with hateful and divisive ideology as a means to recruit activists to their cause is repugnant to justice and domestic tranquility.

A government that legislates that children can be sexually groomed, surreptitiously, and mandates that secrecy of “gender identity” be kept from parents is repugnant.

A government that would take children away from their parents simply because the parents would not allow their children to be mentally abused, chemically castrated, or surgically mutilated (not simply a “nickname change”) is repugnant.

A government that passes laws to negate the well-considered and sensible laws to safeguard elections, passed by a local populace at the county or municipal level, is repugnant.

Any elected official that shirks their oath and their duty to their constituents with a shrug and a lame excuse is repugnant.

When I raised my right hand and swore to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies there was no “if elected.” My oath began that second.

So today, on the third anniversary of the deaths of Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Lance Cpl. David Lee Espinoza, Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover,  Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum,  Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Cpl. Jared C. Schmitz, Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak,   Staff Sgt. Ryan R. Knauss , Lance Cpl. Jared M. X. Negrete, and Cpl. Julian M. Cochran who made the ultimate sacrifice to fulfill their oaths,  I vow to not take my oath lightly. 

I will not be an oath breaker, even knowing there may be a personal cost. What say you?