Worshipping
the State: Why They Die
by
Michael Gaddy
by Michael Gaddy
DIGG THIS
Simple
facts most soldiers do not understand: The
government (state) is not our country; when you
fight and die in undeclared wars, you do so for the
State and not for our country or our freedoms; when
you forsake the Constitution you swore to uphold and
defend to follow unconstitutional orders, even from
your commander-in-chief, you cross the line from
defender of your country to the very real
possibility of becoming a war criminal.
The
inboxes at my email sites are constantly bombarded
with pictures and articles designed to pull at my
heartstrings and make me believe there are troops in
Iraq and Afghanistan fighting for our freedoms. Many
of these have wonderful stirring music intended to
make one stand and salute. They picture our soldiers
holding young Iraqi children and playing with stray
animals – a fit sermon indeed for those who
hold membership in the Church of Nationalism and
worship its god: the State.
Does
the insurgent in Iraq present a greater danger to
freedom than the politicians who signed the Patriot
Act without reading it? Is al Qaeda to be feared
more than the suspension
of the Writ of Habeas Corpus? Is the young Iraqi
soldier fighting in the streets of Baghdad more
dangerous to our freedoms than the John
Warner National Defense Authorization Act,
which allows the State to take direct control of
any and all National Guard units over the objection
of state and local officials to whom they report,
through the simple expedient of declaring a
"public emergency"? Just exactly who is
the greatest threat to our individual rights and
freedoms in this country?
In
November of 2002, I was asked to present the
commencement speech at the graduating class of
Military Intelligence Officers at Ft. Huachuca,
Arizona. It was a very difficult decision for me to
accept this invitation; the storm clouds of war were
definitely on the horizon. I had seen what I
believed to be tainted intelligence in the media
used to garner support for a war in Iraq. I wanted
to do or say nothing that might in any way be seen
as support for the coming conflict – those
who promoted it, or those who would fight it –
an almost impossible feat to accomplish in a
military environment.
When
the day arrived and I was introduced to those in
attendance, which included high-ranking officers of
the post, graduates, instructors, parents and
guests, I began my presentation by asking how many
in attendance remembered their oath of enlistment.
Everyone
raised a hand indicating they did. I then asked how
many could repeat that oath; a significantly smaller
number raised their hand. I then read the Oath
of Enlistment each soldier takes on entry into
the various military branches. I emphasized the
following was listed first in the oath and was
therefore intended to be the most important:
"I,
_____ , having been appointed an officer in the
Army of the United States, as indicated above in
the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will support and defend the Constitution of
the United States against all enemies, foreign or
domestic, that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the same; …
I
reminded them it was their duty to fully understand
the meaning of the words and phrases: support,
defend, and true faith and allegiance in the context
of that oath. I told them that anytime they received
orders, no matter the origin of those orders, when
such orders were in conflict with their oath, they
were honor bound to refuse to carry out those
orders. I told them their first allegiance was to
the Constitution and not to any politician who
became their superior simply because they had
tricked a majority of the people into voting for
them. By this time the higher-ranking officers on
the front row were beginning to squirm in their
seats.
I
spoke of domestic enemies and how much more
insidious they are than those we call
"foreign." I explained that when one is
ordered by any superior to do that which is a
violation of their oath, the entity issuing the
illegal order becomes the domestic enemy mentioned
in their oath.
I
spoke to those gathered of my ignorance of my
obligation to that oath during my military tenure,
and the obvious offenses I felt I had committed and
the unlawful orders I had obeyed. I stated I did not
want them to make the same mistakes I had made. When
I finished my presentation, the ranking officers on
the front row made a hasty departure, but other
instructors and soldiers stayed and presented their
perfunctory appreciation.
I’m
sure many of the young officers in attendance that
day did not fully understand the presentation; most
were in a hurry to check out, and get started on
their leave before their next assignment.
Several
days later, my son came to visit and was obviously
in a state of anger. He related he had just returned
from the Tucson, Arizona office of the Defense
Intelligence Agency (DIA) where he was interviewed
for his Top Secret Clearance. During his interview
the agent conducting his background check informed
him that I was both a subversive and a racist;
subversive because I had written articles critical
of the government and racist because I was a member
of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. At least they
had it half right; I had written, and continue to
write, articles that are critical of the government,
but I have never been a member of the SCV. I qualify
for membership in that organization because several
of my relatives fought for the Confederacy, but I
have never applied for membership.
I
relate the incident with the agent of the DIA simply
to show that once a person drops his/her support for
the collective and assumes their individual God
given rights, they become the enemy of the State.
Soldiers
serving – and dying in the State’s
illegal, immoral wars – do not serve their
fellow countrymen, fight for our liberties or bear
true faith and allegiance to our Constitution –
they serve the collective that is busy stealing our
liberties and destroying our Constitution.
Not
one opposing force in Iraq or Afghanistan, or
anyplace else on this planet, presents a greater
threat to our liberty than the
collective we call the State or the criminals
who control it.
November
15, 2006
Michael
Gaddy [send him
mail], an Army veteran of Vietnam, Grenada, and
Beirut, lives in the Four Corners area of the
American Southwest.
Copyright
© 2006 LewRockwell.com
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