“I, (X), do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of Montana 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 Governor of Montana and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God." ~Oath of Enlistment, Montana Army National Guard.
It seems appropriate to me as I launch this blog to reflect upon what patriotism and loyalty mean. In contemporary America, we are told that patriotism and loyalty can be defined by the media, by politics, by parties and by the Federal government. Yet there was once a time when patriotism meant something infinitely deeper than politicians, parties and propaganda- there was a time when patriotism was loyalty to the principles which defined the American Republic.
This is reflected in the oath of enlistment I quote above, an oath which is a matter of sacred honor to those of us who have sworn it and wear the uniform in service to Montana. Notice quite clearly that nowhere in that oath is loyalty to the president or the government sworn. Rather, the loyalty of the serviceman is sworn to a pair of documents, the Constitutions of Montana and the United States.
These documents set down in writing the principles which define the governments of the sovereign State of Montana and the Republic of the United States which Montana chose to join in 1889. These documents, and thus the principles which they entail, are the objects of our loyalty and thus our true patriotism is expressed not by loyalty to any government, politician or party but rather by loyalty to these Constitutions and the principles (not the men) which crafted and defined them.
Let that, then, define likewise this blog and the community of patriots it may hopefully reach in the darkening days that come. News, good and bad, shall be posted here in a continuous bid to educate, inspire and illuminate men whose loyalties lie not with a politician or a party, but with the principles laid down so long ago in a declaration no longer heard. In time, let the Sons of Liberty rise again as our forefathers rose 24 decades ago, defiant in the face of any tyrant, stalwart in support of the principles of liberty, and resolute in defense of that liberty to which they have been entitled by Divine nature. Reread then the oath, quoted above, and search your own soul; when any man, foreign or domestic, makes himself the enemy of those Constitutions, where stand you? Where stand we all?
It seems appropriate to me as I launch this blog to reflect upon what patriotism and loyalty mean. In contemporary America, we are told that patriotism and loyalty can be defined by the media, by politics, by parties and by the Federal government. Yet there was once a time when patriotism meant something infinitely deeper than politicians, parties and propaganda- there was a time when patriotism was loyalty to the principles which defined the American Republic.
This is reflected in the oath of enlistment I quote above, an oath which is a matter of sacred honor to those of us who have sworn it and wear the uniform in service to Montana. Notice quite clearly that nowhere in that oath is loyalty to the president or the government sworn. Rather, the loyalty of the serviceman is sworn to a pair of documents, the Constitutions of Montana and the United States.
These documents set down in writing the principles which define the governments of the sovereign State of Montana and the Republic of the United States which Montana chose to join in 1889. These documents, and thus the principles which they entail, are the objects of our loyalty and thus our true patriotism is expressed not by loyalty to any government, politician or party but rather by loyalty to these Constitutions and the principles (not the men) which crafted and defined them.
Let that, then, define likewise this blog and the community of patriots it may hopefully reach in the darkening days that come. News, good and bad, shall be posted here in a continuous bid to educate, inspire and illuminate men whose loyalties lie not with a politician or a party, but with the principles laid down so long ago in a declaration no longer heard. In time, let the Sons of Liberty rise again as our forefathers rose 24 decades ago, defiant in the face of any tyrant, stalwart in support of the principles of liberty, and resolute in defense of that liberty to which they have been entitled by Divine nature. Reread then the oath, quoted above, and search your own soul; when any man, foreign or domestic, makes himself the enemy of those Constitutions, where stand you? Where stand we all?
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