What Are You Committed To?

"Everyone who joins the military has one thing in common, they must swear-in by repeating the enlisted or officer Oath."

In that oath, each and every person states a commitment to the Constitution.

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

For very, very many people, that oath costs them their lives and therefore their futures. It is a commitment to the future that people have made for a very long time. Study the history of any country, not just the United States, and you will find very diverse histories filled with very diverse activities and outcomes. Something common between many of these countries are the generations of people who believed in something so much they were willing to die for it. Their hope? Through their sacrifice, those that come after them would have the opportunity to realize that vision.

In the United States of America, that vision, passion, and commitment is to the Constitution.

The commitment to, and sacrifice for, the Constitution does not alone create a perfect country, nor does it create or leave behind a perfect people. The sacrifices of those who take the oath leave behind the opportunity for every person and generation who comes after them to become more today than yesterday, more tomorrow than today.

We stand on the sacrifices of others that we can collectively help form and realize the words, meanings, and intentions of the Constitution together, today, and forever into the future.

These people did not die so they could become a meme, blog, article, or memorial. The people who made an oath to the United States Constitution died so that we might live. Our words will never be enough to honor their sacrifice.

Please take the time to learn about the freedoms you are enabled via the U.S. Constitution. Read it. Learn the Bill of Rights. Study the history of this country, her people, and the articles used to form our foundation and future.

We aren't a perfect people with a perfect history. However, because of the people who took an oath to defend the Constitution and died keeping their commitment, and because of those people who do so even today, we have the opportunity to be just a little bit better every day than we were the day before.

We have opportunity because of them.