Most people, unless they are being sworn in as new American citizens are unaware that there is an Oath of Citizenship:
“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.
This is quite an oath. For those who were born here, taking this oath it is not a requirement, nor is it required for naturalized citizens under the age of fourteen. My parents were sworn in as American Citizens in 1961, I was seven at the time.
I have not found any legal requirement that natural born Americans are required to take this oath. But there is a responsibility and indeed a point of honor that comes with the mantle of citizenship. I consider it my duty to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Hopefully others see it from this viewpoint as well.
For decades, one of the things I have hated the most is the subject of politics. Seeing what we have been experiencing over the past decades this is an understandable point of view for many. But I was fortunate enough to get some grounding in the ABC’s of how our government was designed to work in school, before “Civics” was replaced with “Social Studies.”
In 2015 when Trump came down his golden de-escalator to inflict himself and his bigotry on our country and the world, I was one of those that naively thought the gravity of the office might have a positive effect on his temperament. Not even close. No need to rehash this history. We have now been thoroughly educated as to what Trump’s true intentions are should he be allowed to return to office.
While he has stated that he doesn’t have anything to do with Project 2025, the policies he promises repeatedly to execute are described in it. Trump has promised to be a dictator on day one. This means he intends to ignore the Pressidential Oath of Office as soon as he gets a chance to recite it. Project 2025 involves nothing short of dismantling our government and democracy and installing a dictatorship.
If this isn’t something our Constitution needs defense against, I don’t know what is. So for me, and anyone who understands this, voting is not merely a right we “get to exercise,” it is a duty we must perform as defenders of this country in its most basic form.
Abraham Lincoln coined the phrase, “Of the people, by the people and for the people.” In essence we are the government. We choose those who will direct and execute its laws, functions and mechanisms. So when it comes down to it, picking someone in whom we can place our trust to perform these duties is a big deal and it requires us to show up for our job.
What’s more, the job requires us to be awake and make certain we are not being conned or scammed into voting for someone who sees public office as an opportunity for a grift. Trump has shown us his true colors so many times that it becomes hard to imagine even an inebriated bar fly would vote for him again. But, as it was in 2015 and 2016, logic sometimes has no place in predicting an election.
We can cautiously enjoy a bit of optimism as the Harris/Walz campaign rockets in popularity, filling venue after venue while Trump’s rants are delivered to mere hundreds. But only for a moment. The extreme unreality that is Trump ended up winning the day in 2016 and we can’t let that happen again.
How do we do this?
- Communicate. When we see lies and BS coming from him and his surrogates, call it out.
- Communicate more about what is true. Don’t just call a lie a lie, counter it with facts. There is no shortage of them within easy reach.
- Register to vote if you haven’t. If you have, make sure you are still on the voter rolls and take immediate action if not. This is particularly important in states where Republicans are engaged in voter suppression, like Texas, Georgia, Florida, etc.
- Vote early. Get it done, get it out of the way, encourage others to do the same.
- Get others to commit to voting. Remind them of their duty as citizens.
We are the boss. The government answers to us. That means we have to command it. This is what governing comes down to: the consensus that we the voters provide or refrain from providing. That concatenation of agreement IS the United States.
The opposite end of the scale from governing is being ruled. That’s where the few or the one issue edicts everyone else is forced to follow. I think we’ve seen enough examples of this throughout history to know how bad that would be here.
The stakes in this election could not be higher. The opposition wants to take away your rights, responsibilities and your power as a voter and citizen. Permanently. Standing on the sidelines is not an option.
Marty Kassowitz
Marty Kassowitz is co-founder of Factkeepers. As founder of Interest Factory and View360, he brings more than 30 years experience in effective online communications, social media management, and platform development to the site. He is a writer, designer, editor and long time observer of the ill-logic demonstrated by too many members of the species known as Mankind. After a long history of somewhat private commentary on a subject he totally hates: politics, Marty was encouraged to build this site and put up his own analyses as well as curate relevant content from other sources.
