Okay, so we have our faith, and ourselves. But how can that be enough? How does that stop the abuses of power? How does that check the unchecked exercise of power? How does it solve the crisis of our Constitutional system?
In the short term, honestly? It doesn’t. The pledge of allegiance won’t stop Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their Mazi thugs. But remember, not every person in the government is a Mazi. There are still decent folks there, trying to do their jobs. And we must uphold them as best we can. And they’ve done more than made a pledge: they’ve taken an oath. Every federal employee, from the janitor at the national park to the vice-president of the United States. And, yeah, that last one seems faithless to his oath. But it’s still worth reminding him, reminding each of them, of what they’ve sworn:
I 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.
I’m not going to go point-by-point this time. It’s enough to point out a few key ideas: every federal employee, from the vice-president on down, (we’ll get to the President), swears an oath to bear faith and allegiance to the Constitution, and to defend that Constitution against all enemies.
All enemies. Even the President.
In other words, every federal employee has sworn an oath to obey the Constitution. Which means, when the President is so blatantly and constantly violating his own oath, that every federal employee is sworn, so help them God, to defend the country against the depredations of our President.
They haven’t done it. Yet. But they must. When Linda McMahon shows up to work, to the work of disassembling the Department of Education, the security guard must block her entrance. The IT guy must turn off her badge. The maintenance crew must change the lock on her door. The deputy secretary must defy her orders. And if he doesn’t, then the person beneath must defy him and her. And on and on.
Yeah, I know, I’m dreaming. It’s scary to contemplate. And no one wants to put their neck out and risk getting fired.
But, uh, they’re all getting fired anyway. Seriously. So here’s the thing: our government can stand up to the would-be dictator at its head and make him miserable, or they can go gentle into that good night. And I think we know what Dylan Thomas would advise.
But don’t they have to obey the President? Uh, did I miss something in that oath? I didn’t see it mention the president, or any other person, for that matter. It said the Constitution. And the Constitution is clear. This man may have won an election, but he has lost the right to govern. How’s that, you ask? Well, let’s see what he swore:
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Has he done that? Has he kept his oath? He has not. There is nothing faithful in the way he is executing the office — and executing it, he is! He has not kept faith with the American people; he has not kept faith to the Constitution; he has not even kept faith to his own voters. They wanted him to lower egg prices and drill for oil! They didn’t want him to invade Canada or whatever. And he certainly hasn’t done anything to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution”!
So what do we do? According to the Founders, what should happen in the face of such clear violations of his oath, such clear high crimes and misdemeanors, is a swift and certain impeachment. But our modern party system has broken that check on Presidential overreach. The next barrier is the balance of powers, but a President who has a compliant Congress has little to fear from that front.
Which leaves us with that other oath. The one taken by every federal employee. They are sworn to defend the Constitution from this greatest of all enemies. May God strengthen and support them to this most vital work.
And if not? What then, if even that last barrier fails to hold? Perhaps you know that Jefferson quote about “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants.” But do you know the full context? Jefferson wasn’t lightly calling for periodic rebellions. No. He first said, “what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?”
Trump seems to think we have lost that spirit. It’s time we let him know the truth.
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