Friday, November 16, 2012

Citizenship – A forgotten duty

This morning (11/16/12) on the Today show, I saw 30 new Americans take the Oath of Allegiance. (That’s the oath that makes them American Citizens.) I was struck by the differences between the Oath of Allegiance, the Oath of Enlistment (taken by everyone enlisting in the Armed Services), and the Oath of Office (taken by Commissioned Officers and also civilian Government Employees). (Yes, that’s right; I’ve taken the last two.)
I have the full forms of all three oaths below. Due to length, I’ll put the last two much further down after the meat of the post. You can read them now or later as you prefer.
[Go ahead if you want to, I’ll wait.] 8-) 
Here’s the Oath of Allegiance:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
The actual legal code is at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title8-vol1/xml/CFR-2012-title8-vol1-sec337-1.xml  (There are exceptions for religious reasons)
Here’s what is in that Oath, but isn’t in the Oath of Enlistment or Oath of Office:
… that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
…that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law;
That first part makes sense. To become a citizen here, you have to ‘un-become’ a citizen somewhere else. It’s that second part that makes me say “Wow! That’s some heavy shit, dude.”
(Yes, I’m 50. Put your own age appropriate exclamation there if you if you want to, that’s mine.)
 New Citizens are required to swear they will fight for this country, if able, or perform some other public service if they can’t bear arms.
I was born here. I have sworn to support & defend the laws of the US. I have picked up arms on behalf of the US. No one ever made me swear that I was willing to do so.
So, what am I getting at? We make people that want to join our country swear to do something that no one has made any citizen swear to. Even the 12% that have borne arms for the country never had to promise to do so. I’m not speaking out either for or against that, I’m just commenting - “Wow! That’s some heavy shit, dude.”
[12.1% of the US Population is a Veteran. By state, the top 5 are Alaska, Mont., Maine, VA, & WY (all over 14%). The bottom 5 are Utah, CA, DC, NJ, & NY. (All under 10% of their populations) NY, the least, is at 7.9% of the population.]
I’m a little late on the Veterans’ Day wishes, but thanks to all who have made that commitment.
Here’s a toast to absent warriors. We’ll reunite again on the Plains of Megiddo. <Pours a little Whiskey on the ground; drinks the rest in one gulp.> (Don’t ask why. I’ll never be able to explain. I haven’t the words for those that don’t understand; I need no words for those that do.)
<Present… Arms!> <two>
 Thank You!


Here’s the Oath of Enlistment taken by everyone enlisting in an armed service of the United States:
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. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/subtitle-A/part-II/chapter-31
The Oath of Office (for Commissioned officers and civilian Government employees) is slightly different:
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; 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. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/part-III/subpart-B/chapter-33/

1 comment:

  1. This is a great post J. Thank you for pointing out the differences in the oaths. And especially Thank You for serving.

    ReplyDelete