"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."
This is the oath of office of the president of the United States, as specified in the Constitution.
Of other officials - including members of Congress - the Constitution itself says only that they "shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this constitution."
The original oath used by those "other officials" was simply "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States."
During the Civil War, the oath was revised, made more emphatic: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) 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 is to the Constitution - 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 1 am about to enter: So help me God."
Today's culture has a tendency to be flippant toward nearly everything even remotely solemn - including oaths or vows -- the divorce rate, for example, shows how lightly marriage vows are often taken.
Modern political thinking seems to regard the oath of office as a mere ceremonial exercise, but it was taken very seriously by the founding generation ... and constitutional law takes it VERY seriously.
Justice Joseph Story - he was nominated by James Madison himself, and served from 1812 to 1845 - justified use of the oath "from the plain right of society to require some guaranty from every officer, that he will be conscientious in the discharge of his duty."
In 1899, law professor John Randolph Tucker wrote of the presidential oath, "This [oath] is a very emphatic obligation on the President by positive and negative action to keep the Constitution, in all its integrity, secure from his own violation, and against that of all others in so far as his power can do so; to preserve from his own acts; to protect from outside influence, and to defend against all invasion."
Let's back up a bit - it was 1787, after independence was won for the fledgling United States of America, that the founders gathered to draw up a plan for governing this new nation.
The Constitution was inspired by the need to limit those government abuses that were outlined in the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration recognized the "self-evident truth" that the rights of man derive from a universal law of right and wrong - a higher law than those of mere men - and the Constitution set forth a plan to secure these rights - a plan based on moral law - not on the political whim of men - rights that we each have by virtue of merely being born a human being.
Governments are instituted, the Declaration says, to secure these rights.
Most of us have become so accustomed to our Bill of Rights - and other written LEGAL limitations on political power - that we fail to appreciate how fragile our constitutional system really is.
But we must always remember, the Constitution cannot defend itself.
There is - perhaps regrettably - no constitutional police force able to deter potential offenders and bring the guilty to book.
The primary "check" we have on the unconstitutional conduct of government officials is, of course, the electoral process.
That check has, unfortunately, too often become a battle among whoever has the most money to spend, whoever can think up the dirtiest tricks, whoever is owed the most favors or can promise the most favors - or simply that person with the most charming personality.
It is evident that the electoral process has ceased to have very little to do with electing someone with good sense...someone who has the will to diligently support and defend the Constitution.
And there is the problem that BETWEEN elections people can and do lose their liberty, their businesses, and their personal possessions in a very short period of time.
Indeed, the PATRIOT ACT permits all of these abuses without even pretending to honor the principles required by the Constitution.
And what assurance does our legal system give to those who have NOT won an election whether it be one of the two major parties, or smaller or newer parties who want a voice in their governance?
What assurance do they have that they will not be abused by the majority party, once it grabs the reins of power?
What assurance do minority parties have that the president will not use police-state tactics to intimidate his political rivals?
Our forefathers grappled with those questions and tried to design legal mechanisms that would guard against as many such dangers as possible.
They tried to discourage the election of those Mr. Jefferson called the "corrupt and mischievous" officials by a series of eligibility requirements and procedural hurdles.
Once in office, however, officials are essentially "on their honor" to respect their constitutional responsibilities.
The Framers of the Constitution were keenly aware of this, and that is why they required the president-elect to publicly and explicitly bind himself to the Constitution "before he enters on the Execution of his Office."
The primary purpose of the oath of office is to provide some measure of assurance to those not elected - those who, ironically, just did their best to keep the newly elected away from the seats of power.
To provide assurance that the executive power would not be wielded outside the framework established by the Constitution.
The Constitution expects the chief executive of the nation to effect change cautiously...and the Constitution expects the chief executive of the nation to respect constitutional procedures and the limitations on his office.
The Founders intended the doctrine of enumerated powers to be our principal defense against an arrogant government.
If government had no power to do something, government could not abuse that power.
So power was divided between national and state governments, and among the three branches of government.
The Bill of rights was added in 1791, for even greater caution, to make even more specific what government MUST NOT DO.
Because no bill could list all of our rights, the Ninth Amendment states: "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
{Wiki} Initially drafted by James Madison in 1789, the Bill of Rights was written at a time when ideological conflict between Federalists and anti-Federalists, dating from the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, seriously threatened ratification of the Constitution.
The Bill was influenced by George Mason's 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, and goes back to the 1689 English Bill of Rights, to works of the Age of Enlightenment pertaining to natural rights, and to earlier English political documents such as the Magna Carta in 1215.
The Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution - limits the powers of the federal government, protecting the rights of the people by preventing Congress from abridging freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religious worship, and the freedom to petition, preventing unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and self-incrimination, and guaranteeing due process of law and a speedy public trial with an impartial jury.
And the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights reserves all powers not granted to the Federal government to the citizens - US, you and me - or to the States.
These amendments came into effect on December 15, 1791, when ratified by three fourths of the States. {Wiki}
Why am I giving you this much background on this celebration of Bill of Rights Day?
First, the Bill of Rights has to be understood against the background of the Constitution itself.
Which brings us back to the oath of office taken by government officials.
How did that go again?
"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."
Please note the oath does not include supporting or defending any individual, any political party, any religious belief - not even any flag.
The oath is to support or defend THE CONSTITUTION of THE UNITED STATES.
And it's important to note that the oath as revised during the Civil War, made more rigorous...and still taken by our elected officials, including congressmen and senators and judges, includes supporting and defending the Constitution against enemies "foreign and domestic."
The Bill of Rights was largely a response to the Constitution's influential opponents, including prominent Founding Fathers, who argued that the Constitution failed to protect the basic principles of human liberty.
In his first inaugural address, Grover Cleveland - how many of us ever think of him today? He was president from 1893 to 1897, not too long after the Civil War.
Grover Cleveland observed that if the American people wanted to preserve the Constitution, they were obliged to keep a close watch on government officials and to remind them constantly of their constitutional responsibilities.
He said: "He who takes the oath ... to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States only assumes the solemn obligation which every patriotic citizen on the farm, in the workshop, in the busy marts of trade, and everywhere - should share with him. The Constitution which prescribes his oath, my countrymen, is yours; the government you have chosen him to administer for a time is yours. ... Every citizen owes to the country a vigilant watch and close scrutiny of its public servants and a fair and reasonable estimate of their fidelity and usefulness."
In other words, unless and until elected officials - from the president down - take their oath of office with the seriousness - the honesty - the integrity it deserves - the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are not worth the parchment they are printed on.
So I'm issuing a challenge ---- when you vote for anyone for anything, do some research. Check their record. I f they are incumbents, see how well they lived up to their oath, how their votes affected our Constitution.
If they are "new kids on the block," question them, pin them down on exactly where the stand on Constitutional and the people's guaranteed rights.
If they demonstrate lack of integrity, write to them to let them know they're getting out of line. Write letters to the editor telling the world how they're doing.
Make them aware that you are going to keep a very close watch on them.
And then do it.