According to John Miller at National Review, the Department of Homeland Security is trying to sneak in a new Oath of Allegiance that is used by immigrants seeking citizenship. While some of the updating is sensible—I’d bet that 90 percent of Americans wouldn’t even be able to tell you what a potentate is—other changes are troubling.
For one thing, the new Oath waters down the pledge to defend the Constitution and laws of the United States, by adding the phrase, “Where and if lawfully required.” In other words, it makes that defense optional. Part of the price of citizenship has always been the expectation that we will uphold our nation and its laws against its enemies, not just through military service, but also through our actions of private citizens.
So what purpose does the loophole serve? Miller speculates, “It’s not unreasonable to interpret them as meaning that people in ‘military, noncombatant, or civilian service’—i.e., working for the government—sometimes are not legally bound to defend the Constitution and U.S. laws.”
Miller also points out that the new Oath was being rushed into service without allowing the customary public comment. Gee, I wonder why. Perhaps they knew the outcry it would cause.
