Oath Keepers gave me hope and encouragement
I recently sat in my home office with a fellow veteran. We had gone to weapons school together at Quantico Va., then to Marine Corps Base 29 Palms Ca. In the spring of “67” as the pace of the Vietnam war was rapidly increasing my friend was assigned to a combat unit heading for the war zone. My own assignment came a few weeks later. We met again in Chu Lai RVN. I went on to serve three tours in Vietnam and then opted to quit active duty at the rank of Corporal E 4. My friend went home after one tour; then after being discharged, entered the Arizona ANG from which he retired.
We talked about the state of the nation and our feelings about what was happening to our freedom. In the course of the discussion the Oath we had both taken came up. I related how I had referred to the Oath when addressing one of my state senators at a recent town-hall meeting. I have the Oath, my discharge, my NCO sword, the NCO creed etc. all hanging on the wall in my office. We talked about how the best hope for the nation was in the people who had taken the Oath, from which they were never released to reaffirm their intent to keep that Oath.
Just a few days ago I heard about Oath Keepers. I came to the site not sure what to expect and was careful to check it out as best I could. What I found gave me hope and encouragement. Many other Oath takers were standing up and saying enough is enough. The Oath was more than “just words”. It was, in fact, for many like myself and my friend, a solemn obligation to which we had pledged “our lives, our fortunes, and our SACRED HONOR” to keep.
In recent months I have been branded a “political terrorist”, a “mob” member, an “evil monger”, “right-wing extremist”, part of a “lynch mob”, and more. If this was by some one dimensional partisan it would be funny. It was however by some of the top political leaders of the country whose Constitution I have sworn to defend!
To the person who takes the time to read the thoughts and ruminations of the founders, one of the things that is sure to stand out is the religious faith of almost all and the fervent way in which it was openly and publicly expressed. We can educate people in history and the simplicity of the Constitution. We can prepare some to be ready for the moral and ethical decisions they may have to make in the defense of freedom. We can strengthen them for what can and probably will be for some a loss of life, or fortune. But most of all we must remember, as Benjamin Franklin so succinctly stated:
God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?… Without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.
—Benjamin Franklin, 1787
Unless our efforts are first and foremost committed to the Creator from whom all our rights and freedoms flow, all will be for naught.
RAZ
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November 24th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Raz, Its so awful that those that offered their lives for this country are labeled as possible terrorists. The American people do not feel this way! We love you, we honor your courage! There are some in power that obviously need to rethink their views. Thank you for serving your country in time of war. Thank you for continuing to keep your oath. I am not in the military, I am humbled by those that charge toward what I would probably faint at, thank you for standing up. Thank you for joining Oath Keepers as we stand together for our Republic
November 24th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I think that if those who support the Constitution and still consider it to be the supreme law of the land are now labelled “terrorists,” and “extremists,” it means that the federal government is no longer our government! it is no longer the government established by the Founders. It has become something else! The Constitution was intended by the Founders to be the supreme law of the land. If the federal government no longer considers it to be such, that means we are now living in a different country! Is the federal government entitled to establish a new country despite the wishes, and even the knowledge, of its citizens?
Today, I listened to a Confederate Civil War song called “The Bonnie Blue Flag.” The title refers to a Confederate flag depicting a white star on a blue field that was first adopted by the Republic of Texas and was later carried by Confederate forces during the War. The first two verses of that song, I think, apply to what is happening to our country right now:
We are a band of brothers native to the soil,
Fighting for our liberty with treasure, blood and toil.
And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose near and far,
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star!
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star!
As long as the Union was faithful to her trust,
Like friends and brethren, kind were we, and just
But now when Northern treachery attempts our rights to mar,
We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star! . . .
November 25th, 2009 at 10:18 am
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Hey RAZ,
Welcome to Oath Keepers, brother Marine !
Thank you for your service to our Country and countrymen.
Thank you for standing firm in your beliefs.
Thank you for being an Oath Keeper.
OORAH !
Semper Fi, Marine !
Eddie Gilbert
USMC SSgt 70-78
Peace Officer 97-present
November 25th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Good and honest words brother. Love of the Constitution is now disparaged as “hating.”
Who would have thought it would come to this?
I know you just joined us, but you’ll find out, we hate only tyranny. We are not right or left, elitist, or proletarian. We are non-violent, preferring ballots over bullets, and education over polarization. You’ll see. Thanks for joining us.
Jon Watts, SMSgt, USAF (ret.)
Oath Keeper
November 25th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Welcome aboard, Raz, Oathkeepers is honored to have you join!
Thank you for writing such a nice essay – a good reminder and inspiration for all of us. Like the Sarge says right above me here (well, not literally) … “we only hate tyranny”.
Like you point out, our oath to “protect from all enemies, foreign or domestic” isn’t just words strung together & spoken for effect. Most of us didn’t take the oath and then retire to a fancy office with staff, cars, airplanes, mansions & this or that. I know that I meant what I said then and I mean it now, plus. Plus.
I may not be as pretty as I once was, but I know I’m alot smarter. I realize the importance of honor & country much better now than I did in younger days.
We have to keep on the trod, no matter what obstacles befall. Again, welcome! If you’re from Kansas, please be sure to also sign up for our Kansas group. (or same for whatever state you’re from, and you can join more than one state, I believe).
/s/ Lynn Roberts, Oathkeeper (Missouri, Kansas & Colorado)
(USN, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, 1976 – 1978)
November 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I wrote something several weeks back which I was requested to submit here as a testimonial — and I did. It has subsequently been published in several other venues and most recently by “Canada Free Press” on Thanksgiving Day and I have received so many requests for copies that I put it on it’s own page to make it more accessible to the general public. It may be still in the archives here (I don’t know how that works) but it is called “Words & Pictures & Sacred Honor” and is available here:
http://www.talkinfreedom.com/Words—Pictures.html