Arizona High School Graduates to Swear Oath to Constitution?

by Dave Jolly 

Scandal is once again rocking the streets and social media pages of Arizona where a group of Republican legislators are asking for the unthinkable.  They have proposed a bill that would require all graduating seniors to take a loyalty oath to the Constitution of the United States of America.  Worse yet, the end of the oath has them, oh this is almost too scandalous to say out loud, but it says, ‘So help me God.’
Bob Thorpe (R-District 6 in northern Arizona) along with 5 other Republican state representative and one state senator, have sponsored HB 2467.  This bill would require all high school graduates in the state of Arizona to take an oath of loyalty to support and defend the US Constitution, similar to the oath taken by public officials and law enforcement personnel.  Once each student has taken the oath, the school principal or head teacher would have to issue a signed certification that the student successfully fulfilled that task.

The oath states:

“I, _________, do solemnly swear 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 these duties; So help me God.”

To add to the horrificness of the matter, Steve Smith (R- District 23 – central Arizona) has introduced HB 2284 that would require all public school students, grades 1^st through 12^th, to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day at school.
Immediately, the liberals went into an uproar claiming that Thorpe had gone too far and that his bill was unconstitutional and would not be held up by any court.  Anjali Abraham of the America Communist Lawyers Union, err, that’s the American Civil Liberties Union, told the local media:

“Both bills are clearly unconstitutional, ironically enough.  You can’t require students to attend school … and then require them to either pledge allegiance to the flag or swear this loyalty oath in order to graduate. It’s a violation of the First Amendment.”

How dare anyone ask US citizens to say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school and then have to swear a loyalty oath to the US Constitution?
Before anyone can swear an oath to the Constitution, don’t they have to know what it says first?  So that means that every high school student should have to take a class on the US Constitution so they know what it says.  Sadly, many law schools today don’t even do that.  There are hundreds of people graduating from law schools that have never read the Constitution or have any idea what it actually says.  They only know what their liberal professors have told them.

Personally, I think it’s a great idea.  I know I had to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school through the 8th grade.  I felt that doing that made me a part of this country and something to be proud of.  How can saying the Pledge of Allegiance or swearing an oath of loyalty to the governing document of your country be considered unconstitutional?  A violation of the First Amendment – bull pucky!
Is it unconstitutional to teach our children to be patriotic and loyal to our country?  What I don’t understand is why would any citizen object to saying the Pledge of Allegiance or swearing an oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution.  If they refuse to, then perhaps they should consider finding another county that would better suit their views.

I know some people say they won’t say the Pledge of Allegiance or swear a loyalty oath because of their religious beliefs about not being able to serve two masters, but they are taking that out of context in this case.  Saying the Pledge or taking the loyalty oath is not asking anyone to give up their loyalty and obedience to Christ, rather they are intended to support and uphold the freedoms and rights that God granted to this great nation over 230 years ago.  By saying the Pledge and taking such an oath should cause one to strive uphold our Christian values, morals, and biblical laws and to fight against those like Barack Obama who are actively trying to take them away from us.
I know it’s an old cliché, but I firmly believe it’s true and represents the efforts of Reps. Smith and Thorpe: ‘America – Love It or Leave It!’