 I'm really glad to be able to be here today to talk a little bit about the oath Everybody here if I just talk loud It'd be better. It'd be better for me It's really an honor to be able to come and just talk for a little bit about the oath I'm a big fan of oath keepers I remember in 2009 when the organization first kind of found its roots found some structure They first went online And I remember getting on that I think at the time it was oath keepers not clogged spots I remember going on and punching in my information and get some of their emails. Can everybody hear me? All right. All right. Good to go. And I was real excited about it because um, you know I was in the Marine Corps for a total of 10 years between active duty and reserve I was with the Marine Corps from 1999 to 2009. I was discharged in 2009. My job in the Marine Corps I was an 0311 infantryman. So my job was like the other is there any other infantrymen? Yeah, we've got some so my job as an infantryman was Everything that we did all the training that we did revolved around killing it was the it's probably some of the more dangerous work in the military We have the guys that we need to make sure that our you know, they're fixing our trucks the guys in motor tea We have the guys in supply that are making sure that we have the appropriate Body armor or the appropriate packs or or issue So everybody's really needed throughout all of these jobs in the Marine Corps or in the army or in the Navy or Air Force or Coast Guard But the thing is is in the Marine Corps My job was the job that all the other jobs existed just to support So the the mission of the Marine Corps Rifle squad is to locate clothes with and destroy the enemy by fire maneuver or to repel the enemy's assault by firing close combat Now everybody in the Marine Corps exist just to support that mission And so from 1999 to 2003 when I was on active duty at the time of my life. I got to deploy overseas Got to participate in operations in support of operation and during freedom. I was a Marine Corps martial arts instructor I got to spend some time in a scout Team out ahead of the rest of the company making sure we're finding the right path I had a great time. I got to go to squad leader school learn how to build bombs Bangalore's set off, you know, Daisy chain a whole bunch of claymore mines together How to how to properly set up an ambush for my squad got to do all that stuff had a great time Unfortunately, though right in the middle of my first enlistment was 9-11 So I quite literally went from an environment in which all we ever did was train To an environment in which all we ever did was prepare for the next real-world combat operation My very very first real-world combat operation never thought I'd be doing this But the very first time I ever put live rounds in my Magazine the first time I ever went to condition one with five ammunition for a real operation was on American soil In the days right after 9-11 My company was attached to provide security for armed forces Pacific at Camp Smith and in Hawaii And now these guys are armed forces Pacific. They were participating in a much broader Intelligence gathering operation planning operation to find out where the enemies were where that terrorists were the guys that hit us on 9-11 The guys that bombed us or flew our planes into the towers in New York City or in the Pentagon So we went from a mission that was really a training mission to a to a mission that was you know, you're wearing Body armor because now you really might get shot. It's not just because you might have to wear it for a real one day It's because now you really have to wear it for real because there's people out there that we've been able to identify They're trying to kill us. So in 2003 I left the Marine Corps and I went to college Right about 2004 during our presidential election We had the one president that said I was for the war before I was against the war Right and everybody at the time was really getting upset when they heard him say that well I was no different. I was really upset it with him for saying the same thing So I went back and I started studying some documents because I was really really angry with this guy Senator Kerry And he wasn't the only one there's some Republicans who are saying the same thing But I was really beginning to get angry with some people in government They're saying things like well, I'm not for the war now Why because it was a hot button issue and it was election year So what they're trying to do is they're using the blood of American troops to pander to the voter base to pick up more votes I got a big problem with that There's some guys in my squad who had been killed I had some other friends and other units that had been killed and when I have a big problem with somebody saying that Well, I'm for the war but wait a minute now I'm against the war now that it's election season. The reason I have such a problem with this is because our men and women Overseas that are wearing the uniform they don't have the luxury of deciding whether or not they're for or against Attacking that machine gun bunker that day. They don't have the luxury of saying no, you know what platoon sergeant I don't feel like going out on patrol today. I'd rather stay here after all, you know I was for it when I joined but now I'm not really for it They don't have the luxury of doing that but all too often we got these politicians and I almost said Jefferson City But as far as this particular issue is concerned primarily Washington DC We feel like they have some kind of red carpet luxury to decide whether or not they're for or against What the troops are doing the same troops that they already voted to send overseas, right now This isn't necessarily about what you believe about the wars Okay, remove how you feel about the wars from this issue right now because this isn't necessarily about our foreign policy This is about our domestic policy when I talk about our domestic policy I don't even talking about Domestic policy that we all use follow or implement. Okay, I'm talking about the domestic policy that we as a culture use To decide what kind of people we're sending to Washington DC. That's our domestic policy is our culture What kind of domestic policy we're using whenever it comes election time Whenever we're deciding to find what kind of candidates we're looking to send in to represent us in Washington DC So there's a domestic policy that's really an issue here and the reason is the reason we have people like John Kerry The reason we've had people like or you just name it any one of those jokers who are who are using the troops is this kind of political leverage The reason is this because these people don't understand the oath that they took to become congressmen or senators And now the oath that they took is very very similar to the oath that we took and who here's taking the oath for military or police service before a Number of us. All right I'm gonna read the oath and what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna break down the oath and talk a little bit about what it means Okay, I'm gonna talk about a little bit of the grammatical Dynamics that go in to the oath. I think a lot of people Hear it or they say it but it doesn't really sink in when I was 17 years old and I took the oath It didn't really sink in to me. It was just kind of a ceremonious Poetic statement, you know before you launch off into boot camp But when you really break down the the grammatical absolutes of this statement It really means a whole lot more than the credit. I think that it gets from a lot of people So let me read it and then I'm gonna break it down a little bit. Here's how the oath goes Here's what I said in 1999. I said I Paul curbing Just while I'm a swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign in Domestic that I'll bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the Orders of the officers appointed or over me according to regulations and the uniform code of military justice So help me God. Okay, now all too often like I said before I think a lot of people join the military Especially when you're young you're 17 or 18 or 19 you join and you're looking forward You know raising your right hand and saying the oath because you know that that's just what that's one of those like landmark Moments of your military journey, you know, but I think a lot of times people just don't put the thought into it They don't see how profound this actually is So let me start with the very first couple lines I said I Paul curbing do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States Against all enemies foreign and domestic and as soon as the word domestic is used in the oath It's immediately followed by a semi-colon. Okay now a semi-colon Grammatically speaking means that whatever comes next the very next thought is only there to reinforce the first thought That's what a semi-colon's for okay, so when I said that I would take an oath That's really the conclusion of that particular thought that when I take an oath What am I taking an oath to I'm taking an oath to the Constitution? That's what it is I'm taking an oath to protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic See a lot of people in America today think that we take an oath to protect the president I've actually heard this for people in the military. We take an oath to protect the president We take an oath to follow the president. We take an oath to follow whatever Congress tells us to do That's not true at all. Oh my goodness. Nothing could be further from the truth We don't take an oath to any one person or one individual in fact in 1776 we fought a bloody war of independence to get away from the whole idea that we fought and served at the pleasure of an individual We don't do that in America anymore. We fight and we serve not for the pleasure of any one individual We fight and we serve for one purpose one purpose only the security of our Constitution So I'm gonna stop right here. I'm gonna talk a little bit about why that's important In America, American veterans are different and we're special than any other veteran any other service member That's ever served in the history of the world Up until 1776 We had people that would serve at the pleasure of a king in America, right? We serve because Reasons that we separated from great Britain basically Shanghai in people Okay, he was catching our sailors on ships out at sea and Conscripting them into service to go fight his wars in other parts of the world and we didn't like that So we actually put in the Declaration of Independence one of the reasons why we're separating from from great Britain It's because we have a single individual us to fight it his pleasure That's one thing that King George III said I'm gonna put him in my ward the Declaration of Independence We formed a country Through the principles of the Declaration of Independence that said we're not gonna we're not gonna have a country for the sake of a king We're not gonna have a country governments aren't instituted to help generate more wealth for an individual or for an empire in America We're getting to do the government for the sole protection of our rights and our liberty It's used to be self-evident that all men are created equal that they're endowed by their creator with certain Nailinable rights among these rights are live for liberty in the pursuit of happiness and that to secure these rights Governments are instituted among men. The only reason we have a government is to secure these rights. That's it So the military being a branch not a branch but an arm of our government exists for one reason and one reason only to Secure our God-given liberty So when Barack Obama or any other president for that matter decides to unilaterally Take our sons and daughters and send them into Libya or Nigeria or any one of these countries that he's recently sent troops into Without any representation. I would have to make the argument that we've probably come full circle on that issue That that our founding fathers As an R or a D next to their name Because our troops were an oath to the Constitution not a political party and I would say that's incumbent upon every American to make sure that we reach That party line for the sake of constitutional adherence Okay, it's very important. It's not just about power. I think I could make the argument Anybody who works to subvert our constitution Constitution immediately falls into the camp of an enemy of the Nazi uniform And it really be considered a domestic threat to the security or the integrity of the Constitution So I think that we need to be very very careful when people start talking about oh well I took an oath and so just because I took an oath I can go do whatever I want because I took an oath Taking an oath doesn't mean that you have license to do whatever you want taking an oath means that you're humble enough to Respect the authority of the Constitution That's what taking an oath means, but I think sometimes in America We have it a little bit backwards where people take an oath and think now I can do no wrong I've got some cover because I took an oath to the Constitution and I'll just fall back on that and tell people like hey I took an oath everything's fine. I took an oath right But maybe we need more of those people Taking a vow to be oath keepers Instead of just about to use that oath as some kind of political cover to do whatever they want Here's a good example and we'll get back on the oath here in just a second But here's a really good example We recently found out right that our United States government has been Getting warrants secret warrants being issued by secret judges and secret courts to secretly spy on the communications of the American citizens Now let's think about this You're cheap. I am by every if the Marine Corps would have issued me nails in the morning and said eat these for breakfast I would have done it if the Marine Corps would have said I want you to eat mud for lunch I would have done it. I was that Marine. I was the Marine that all the other Marines I was like the kid in school who's like teacher. I think you forgot to collect our home for the enemies of America. I do But I also take very seriously the liberty that America is supposed to secure to me as a sovereign individual So if the government needs information on the American people There's a process for that that the founders have put in place and art in I'm sorry an amendment for the Bill of Rights They have to have a warrant. Okay, but here's the problem They think that they need a warrant to protect them not us the story broken We all found out that our communications have been confiscated and shared They said oh, it's okay because we got a warrant for the private justice. It was a secret warrant It was issued by a secret judge, but it was a warrant Here's the problem. We'll rise to protect us protection of my liver. That's what warrants for So if you're gonna issue a warrants from a secret judge Kind of undermines the whole purpose of having warrants in the first place It's a violation of liberty. It might not necessarily be a violation of the loopholes that they've created But it would definitely most necessarily that and do it it that way is a violation of When we're going after the enemies of America, are we violating our Constitution to do it? Following the spirit of the law in the letter of the law in order to keep us free You see when I remember when I had my first anti-terrorism class and Is the people hate us because we're free? Maybe what we should do is protect our freedom and liberties by default winning because we've traded our security I'm sorry. We traded our liberty Benjamin Franklin warned us. He said those who trade their liberty for security deserve neither and we'll lose both I would I think that we can make the argument in a world of TSA body naked body scans in a world of Drones our government has already issued a study because they would like to acquire 30,000 drones To use in domestic airspace I think that with some of the policies that we're seeing come our way that we can make the argument That we've traded our liberty for security and in the process of entirely undermined the principles of liberty and the Constitution Stand up and say hey, I took a note to the Constitution Maybe we should go back and reflect on that a little bit. Maybe we should go back and consider what the Constitution means Years before I thought with any insight into what exactly that means It took some of my friends being killed before I thought that I would reconsider exactly what that old man And I I'm ashamed and I'm embarrassed to tell you 2001 or 2002 or 2003 If somebody asked me to define liberty and talk about what liberty and freedom is I'm embarrassed to admit that I would probably give an extremely shallow answer I probably would have said something like oh, it's just doing whatever you want to do That's probably what I would have said but there's a whole there's a whole nother level There's a whole deeper philosophy behind liberty It's just like socialism and mark in Marxism and Buddhism and Hinduism and any doctrine of beliefs It has an underlying philosophy that if people don't understand it and they can't articulate what it means There's no way that they're ever going to know when it's being taken away from Right now the American culture the American education system for fostering a new generation Including the current generation that I'm a part of that we can't necessarily define what their means For the sake of security We just go right along meaning that we have a rule of law in which this means get ready because the net of vending the Constitution of the United States of America That means that in the process of doing that To the same people who also swear allegiance to the Constitution problem is Americans When we put American troops under the control of anybody from the United Nations That we will only Allegiance to the same people who have given their loyalty to our Constitution Operations or international operations and we're gonna send the troops in there with troops from France and Europe and South America Because it's a good feel-good mission. That's according to the oath But so let's go on a little further now and through the oath as I do this I Said I Paul Kirtman do solemn swear that I will support and defend the Constitution United States against all enemies foreign in domestic Semi-colon That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same Semi-colon, so there's another one So what we see here is we see that these thoughts keep president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me According to regulations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in compliance with the Constitution Right and right now Dramatically speaking the logic of our oath it follows logic. There is a statement. There's a thought here There's a train of thoughts, right? And so we're only supposed to follow orders so long as those or me to confiscate firearms. I'm sorry But sir, you're out of line and you're out of order second amendment to the Constitution That the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed Mr. President that means that you don't have any jurisdiction over the issue of regulation of firearms So as an oath taker someone who raised my right hand and said that I'm swearing oath to support and defend the Constitution Mr. President, I can't follow those orders and of course our president My little disclaimer here. He hasn't directly given an order to confiscate firearms. I'm talking about yeah, should this ever happen? Okay Is it cutting that direction? Yes, it's heading that direction. Are you sure he hasn't done anything? But when he gives a public order when he gives a public order People who understand the oath or understand the Constitution have the intestinal fortitude to stand up And they really know and there's some orders if they're unconstitutional if they deprive the American people of our liberty It's it might very well be possible that those are wrong orders Yeah, people that call groups like the oaths, you know, they come up with all kinds of names because even though they don't know you They never met any of you They're willing to come out and say things to put it in the mind of the public to immediately put it in their mind That you're not even worth listening to Okay So this can be hard sometimes it can be hard to follow these oaths because there's going to be some decisions coming down from higher At some point in the future, maybe in my lifetime, maybe not But people that took an oath and that they're serious about their liberty and they're serious about the constitution They're going to have a hard time because it means they're going to have to probably make some sacrifices That's why the very next part of the oath There's not a semicolon after the part that I just read uniform code of military justice That's where it stops then there's a period The very next thing our oath is broken down into two sentences one sentence is the logic of our oath The second sentence says so help me god That's a sentence all in its own What that means that's not and that itself is not also just a poetic statement. So help me god We just say that to give it some kind of kick We say that the independence in our constitution gave us life and liberty But i'm sorry as thomas jefferson said the same god who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time It is a is a christian, okay Since the oath talks about god i'm going to talk about god for just a second All right, it's somebody who is of the christian faith and if you have another faith Whatever if we all acknowledge Um, that there's at least a higher authority, okay christian that god invented liberty I believe it's god's will for people to be free trying to argue against the fact that people should be free Okay, that people should be free. It is a christian. I believe that god wants people to be free It is a christian. I believe that god invented liberty just like he invented being just like he invented the clouds and the stars in the sky Okay, I believe it's god's will for people to be free. So this next line in the oath where it says so help me god That's not just a poetic statement That's because we're supposed to acknowledge the creator and the grantor of our liberty And we're going to him and pleading for him for help to defend the liberty of our fellow man Because sometimes it can be a difficult thing to do It's a prayer our whole oath essentially has turned into a prayer at this point because we're not asking our platoon sergeant We're not asking a lance corporal or a private or a Petty officer in the navy. Hey, help me help me with this oath We're asking the god of the universe or as john adams called him the great legislator of the universe Please with your divine benevolence step in and help us protect our freedom Help us be good stewards of the liberty that you've given to us Help us be true and honor the oath that we just took That's what so help me god means. It just doesn't mean and I Maybe you know, maybe we can use a little help I'll just say so help me god because hey, it sounds good in movies It's not what it's for when you got people wearing body armor When you got people wearing camouflage to go into danger areas And they have to wear camouflage because there's people out there that are looking for them To shoot them in the head and kill them The one person the one entity that we can go to when everybody else has failed us Is the great legislator of the universe right There's the same. There's no there's no atheist in a foxhole or in the marine corps. There's no atheist in a fighting hole Or you don't use foxholes use fighting holes But even if you're an atheist you don't believe in god, right? One thing that we should all agree on is that If everybody just aspires to the idea that there's some type of higher power out there other than just the people in office And that there's some kind of judgment that somehow In one shape form fashion or another in this life or the next we're all going to reap some kind of judgment Well, then it's very likely that people out there Whether they're christians or not or buddhists or hindus or atheists or whatever They just kind of believe that at all or even even think it might be possible Well, then maybe they'll exercise good stewardship that we've entrusted them with We go to the polls and ask them to go to jefferson city or washington dc to protect our The oath is very very serious and it has lots of consequences And for the people who stand up and acknowledge the logic and the law and the grammatical truths of our oath As a whole deeper meaning Then the people who take a who who say these words And they're just a shell Of them kind of american that they should be And take part in our electoral process And our policymaking Our election process People who really understand this oath are going to do everything they can to ensure that we have liberty whether they're active duty In america people say yeah, freedom is not free. Thank the truth. Thank the troops freedom is not free We see here's the problem with this It's all we had to do to rely On our freedom because you think that the guys in the military are doing all the sacrificing Then freedom is free because you're not sacrificing anything for it But freedom isn't free And that means that every time you have an opportunity to go to the polls, you have a you have an individual Responsibility as an american Is somebody who's supposed to practice good stewardship of the freedom and the liberty that god gave you you have a responsibility To go to the polls you have a responsibility This is is it what i was the king when i invited and we'd agree on all people like you That's great. I'm so glad i got to meet you. Can you do me a favor? Can i put a yard sign in your yard? It would really help me out. Oh, no I don't do yard signs I'm afraid what my neighbors might think If i put a yard sign in my yard somebody might say i'm gonna tell his boss You know what we have people that are wearing 80 pound rucksacks climbing the mountains of afghanistan right now And regardless of what you think about the wars these young men and women are over there doing something Just so we don't have to do it. Okay So i would say this If those people are sacrificing time away from their families If they're wearing the body armor, so we don't have to anymore if they're carrying the rucksack up and down hills if they're sacrificing Four years of their life and in some cases their arms and their legs In some cases they're giving the ultimate sacrifice by giving their life. I think that it's very That that put in a yard signing verse who's overseers right now And I would say I would say if you've ever been one of those people And you're like well, I don't really get involved in campaigns If you are an oath keeper you better be involved in every single campaign because your oath doesn't just apply so long as you're carrying a rip It applies so long as you're living and have the ability to operate in the american system in the american process of government That's part of the oath So I would say that freedom isn't free not because it's just because of the troops But freedom isn't free because we have to sacrifice something too Thomas jefferson once said that the natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and for government to gain ground That's the natural thing the natural thing is for liberty to yield The natural thing is for people to walk away from the electoral process The natural thing is for people to Turn the television from c-span To american idol. That's the natural thing the natural thing is when it's a nice day and you can go on vacation The natural thing is for people to want to spend time with their families Enjoy some beautiful weather It's that even if it means they don't have to vote that's the natural thing Thomas jefferson warned us that the natural progress is for government to ye or sorry for government to gain ground and for our liberty to yield What this means is is that if we want to correct the path that run in america We have to start doing some things that might seem unnatural at first That means when you have a beautiful day and all your friends are going to play golf But you know that there's a meeting going on on the other side of town because your city council About ready to implement a policy that's going to help the tribe you have your property rights It is in your best interest Is in the interest of your property to make sure that you tell your golf buddies No, i'm sorry There's bigger fish to fry today The natural progress is for you to want to go play golf But if you want to hold on to your liberty You're going to have to step outside that natural box And you're going to have to start doing something that you normally might feel uncomfortable doing Even if it means going to a town hall making get in front of a microphone and speaking out against the horrible policies that your government's about to implement Everything rises and falls on leadership And anybody who's been in the military knows this You know that the difference between accomplishing your mission and being an absolute failure Sometimes sometimes certain circumstances play into that But sometimes they're all hinges on whether or not you have a good squad leader or a bad squad leader, right? So right now in america everything rises and falls on leadership Businesses rise and falls out fall on leadership whole countries rise and fall on leadership and in america They have a government by the people in fourth people Barack obama is not our leader Congress is not our leader the american people are supposed to be the leader and the natural progress Is for us to not want to lead because we would rather engage in some entertainment But what we need to do in america right now is make sure that we're in every single meeting We can be at make sure that our freedom and our liberties being guarded Whether someone's a democrat or a republican just make sure that make sure that whatever they're doing Is for the protection of our freedom and for the implementation and for abcating sound financial principles I think I can make a very good argument to say that more of our liberty has been robbed through our pocketbook Then because to be a light to the other people who just haven't come to that understanding of freedom just yet Two years ago. I voted on a bill in jefferson city and me and one other guy voted no If vented jefferson city and you've seen us vote There's a huge board on the left and this huge board on the right and as we vote if you're vote for the bill Your name lights up green if you vote against the bill your name turns red We introduced the bill that was a horrible bill full of red tape full of tax It's full of brand new mandates And I looked at my friend I said I think I'm going to be the only guy that votes no on this And he said well, I'm voting no if you vote no I said well, I'm voting no. We were the last two people to vote Everybody else had voted. Yes. It was almost unanimous. I hit the no, but My friend and you can't hit the no 15 16 17 other people who had already voted. Yes changed their vote to no