I Didn't Take an Oath to a King

Never have and never will.

(image credit: Abigail Taylor/WWMT)

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I can’t believe it’s been almost twenty years.

In the early afternoon of November 22, 2005, I stood in an unremarkable conference room at the San Antonio Military Entrance Processing Station on Fort Sam Houston, Texas—fluorescent lights bright and unnerving overhead, my right hand raised, surrounded by other 18, 19, and 20 year-olds with their right hands raised—and followed the instructions of a patient but very serious Army officer leading us in our Oath of Enlistment:

“I, [name], 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; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (So help me God.)”

I had spent the previous few weeks taking tests and being evaluated by various professionals and having my body and mind thoroughly scrutinized. My eye exam nearly kiboshed the whole process. A sympathetic military optometrist sighed while looking at my chart, gave me a hard stare, and asked “Do you really want this?”

“Yes, Ma’am, I do.”

She nodded. “Make us proud.”

She signed off on it, and the last major hurdle was cleared.

All that trouble and testing and anxiety and endless waiting had led to this moment, and it was over in fewer than 45 seconds.

I was officially part of the long tradition of American military service, joining my father and both my grandfathers and Bea Arthur and Jimi Hendrix and Betty White and Elvis Presley.

All of them had taken essentially the same oath by every enlistee going back to 1789, when soldiers in breeches and cockaded hats originally said this:

“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) to bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whatsoever; and to observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States of America, and the orders of the officers appointed over me."

And that was based on the Oath taken by the first members of the Continental Army on June 14, 1775:

“I, [name], have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the American Continental Army, and do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations as are or shall be established for the government of said Army.”

250 years ago.

Think about that. For all this time, every service member has taken some kind of oath to our country and against despotism and monarchy.

But it wasn’t until 1950 that the Constitution was specifically included in the Oath for all service members entering.

Military officers have been required to declare an oath to the Constitution since 1789, and it was finally thought that enlisted personnel should be specifically aligned with that in their oath.

And why?

Because the rise of fascism and authoritarianism in the mid-20th century made our political and military leaders realize the importance of an oath explicitly dedicated to the Constitution and never any one person.

They knew it was critical to make clear that the United States of America has been, and always will be, the antidote to monarchy — that in this country, the most powerful people in government will always be servants to the people.

In this country, we take an oath to the people. We take an oath to each other. For our freedom, for our liberty, for our mutual protection.

The oath we take is about the enduring faith we have in each other, in all our failures and imperfections, in all our struggles and challenges, in all our vast differences and disagreements.

The one thing that works—that has only ever worked—is our faith in each other. That is the clarity that makes our country work at its best, and when that is absent, we have a weak and lawless society dictated by the whims of individuals who only care about themselves.

There are no headstones in Arlington National Cemetery for people who took an oath to a king. There are no memorials for civil rights leaders, no statues of great women and men, that were created for the benefit of any monarchy.

That is why we march today. That is why we protest today. That is why we are making it clear that aspiring kings will have never have comfort or support in American society.

You can spend today doomscrolling on social media, or you can do something that reaffirms our collective refusal to tolerate petty tyrants.

There are over 2,000 “No Kings” protests being held today throughout the country. I want all of you to attend one. I want all of you to meet others who will not tolerate kings in the United States.

I want you to be reminded that not only are you not alone in your righteous anger but you part of the vast majority of Americans who are making it clear that enough is enough.

I want you to be reminded of what every tyrant has always feared most: there is nothing more powerful than the faith we have in each other.

Get out there: https://www.nokings.org/

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