Opinion: Citizens need to hold public servants accountable to their oaths

The website i.word.com defines “oath” as: “a solemn usually formal calling upon God to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says.”

It is becoming more and more disturbing as to how many elected officials and members of the police and military are choosing to either ignore or blatantly violate the oath that they took to defend the Constitution when either taking office, being hired, or volunteering for service.

We have seen it with the military, going door-to-door, taking legally owned weapons from law-abiding citizens during Hurricane Katrina, violating residents’ Second Amendment rights. We have seen it with the police, forcing their way into homes and forcing the people out with no warrants for search or seizure as in Boston, violating their Fourth Amendment rights. We have seen it with our political leaders — from local government to the national level — with everything from violations to our First, Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Tenth amendments.

If we raise our hand and take an oath in a court of law, and violate that oath, are we not held responsible? We, the people, need to hold public servants accountable as well. Those working with them (i.e city councilmen with the mayor, state senate/representatives with the governor, members of Congress with the President, law enforcement and the military) who do not attempt to stop them from violating citizens’ rights are not upholding their oaths to defend the Constitution.

Penalties for violating an oath of office include, as a minimum, removal from office. So, with the laws approved and actions that violate the Constitution, why aren’t these elected positions being vacated?

We see cellphone videos online and on the news of police violating the public’s rights. We see politicians from city to federal levels passing laws that violate or ignore the Constitution to further politician’s agendas instead of looking out for the rights of the public.

We the people have to start standing up for our rights. With each violation that either goes unanswered or is upheld by the courts, the violators become more emboldened to greater extremes.

Taking the teaching of the Constitution out of schools was their first step in dumbing down America. Knowledge is power; without the knowledge of the constitutional limits on the federal government, the public will go along with laws no matter of their intent or constitutionality.

Many public servants take their oaths seriously. Without the people’s support, they cannot win the fight themselves. We need to hold every public servant accountable for these violations. We need to confront them through letters, emails and phone calls. We need to appear at their meetings; we need to contact our local media and address it with their peers, superiors, and even their subordinates.

Ultimately, we need to hold them accountable at the voters booth.

-30-