What if we all had to take this oath?
The Oath of Allegiance to the United States, taken by naturalised citizens
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 the 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.
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I read this to myself and felt the normal discomfort of oath taking. Part of that is that such an oath requires one to give up some measure of oneself, which I do very grudgingly if at all (often because I wonder if I can even come close to honoring the oath, do I have what it takes???).
Subsequently, I tried substituting "my people" for "United States" and felt better about it. Then I had to ask why... . I am unhappy with the answer, which is; I believe in my people, but I no longer believe that my people are represented by the Government. I associate the words "required by law" with government. Substituting "law" with "government" really makes me uncomfortable!
To be clear, it is not the form of government that I see as the problem, the framework is good and strong. It is the rotting meat of corruption that is hanging on that framework that disturbs me.
All in all, in spite of the mis-giving, I would be proud to have to take that oath in the name of my people. So I do.
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