Armed Forces

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN IN THE ARMED FORCES

In Nazi Germany, soldiers swore this oath, “I swear by God this sacred oath that to the Leader of the German empire and people, Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces, I shall render unconditional obedience and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared to give my life for this oath.”

In the USA, soldiers swear this one: “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.”

The first is to a man; the second is to the guarantee of our civil liberties. Not the Government, not to the President, but to the Constitution. Enough said.

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