The declining value of sworn oaths

On July 28, 1954, I enlisted in the Air Force. At the time, I was instructed to take the oath, “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic …”

It implied that I would defend the country and sacrifice my life in so doing. I was a teenager; what did I know about the country other than what I read in schoolbooks and the reading of the Constitution? What country then — what country today?

A nation that’s on the precipice of its destruction? One that will dispose of its 235-year-old democracy? The land that once welcomed the poor, destitute and terrorized from abroad, but no more? A government so polarized and paralyzed that little can be done for the most vulnerable, citizen and non-citizen aspiring to become one?

Make no mistake. The spine of our empire, our military prowess. Economic power stems from it. Since oaths have become virtually meaningless these days, of what value are they in dysfunctional America?

James D. Cook

Schaumburg