Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

A positive look inside the Oath Keepers organization and what the Oath Keepers stand for.

The Oath Keeper -- Villain or Valiant?
By Jon Watts - The American Thinker

It has been proposed by various groups and individuals that an organization known as "Oath Keepers" is racist, seditious, hateful, and pernicious.

I'm here to tell you the real story.

I have been a member of Oath Keepers since August 2009. My member number is under 500. There are currently over 10,000 dues-paying members, and tens of thousands on their Facebook site. I have seen the inner workings since the early days as the acting Alaska State Chapter President -- truly a view from the inside.

Let's set aside the controversy for a moment and examine the term "Oath Keeper." What does it really mean?

Webster's dictionary defines an "oath" as "a solemn, usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says." We might therefore infer that an oath "keeper" sincerely intends to keep his word from the moment of an initial oath forward.

For example, each newly elected member of Congress recites this oath:

I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

One can compare this to the military oath of office.

Oath Keepers use a modified officer's oath for several reasons: because veterans, even if they were once enlisted, are no longer under any orders, because civilians are not under orders, and because officers have always sworn only to defend the Constitution. Even when it comes to enlisted military, the oath is first and foremost to defend the Constitution; they are duty-bound to disobey any order that is not lawful. Further, it allows all participants, of whatever status, to join in together and reaffirm their official oath. If an enlisted man or officer wants to state the exact official oath that he swore upon entry into service, he can.

The sincere intent of any oath is contained within the words recited, as well as within the heart of the individual making the oath. To diverge from that specified intent would naturally put the person in the category of oath "breaker" rather than "keeper."

The term "oath breaker" has been around since Old English was spoken. The term used in those times was "waerloga," which also meant "damned soul," "wicked person," and even "Satan." Suffice to say, an oath breaker was about the worst thing one could be back in the day. Punishments for oath breaking were of the spearing, hacking, or crushing variety -- decidedly unpleasant. Interestingly, the word waerloga is also the origin of the word "warlock" in use today. History had fitting names and biblical consequences for those who broke an oath to the Almighty. Such oaths have long since faded in value to mere formalities today.

Continue reading this article at The American Thinker

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/ ... r_val.html