A New “Citizens Oath of Office” for Inauguration 2005: Robert Jensen

[Demeter]

www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan05/Jensen0120.htm
January 20, 2005

"Four years ago at the counter-inaugural event on the steps of the state Capitol in Austin, TX, I administered a Citizen’s Oath of Office to a crowd that was eager to fight the incoming Bush administration’s reactionary agenda:

“I do solemnly pledge that I will faithfully execute the office of citizen of the United States, and that I will, to the best of my ability, resist corporate control of the world, resist militarism, resist the roll-back of civil rights, and resist illegitimate authority in all its forms.”

Predictably, the Bush gang has spent four years doing its best to strengthen the corporate elite’s grip on the country, jack up military spending and use that military to deepen U.S. control in key regions of the world, and undermine fundamental political freedoms. We couldn’t have predicted that the events of 9/11 would raise the stakes so dramatically, but the oath was on target about the basic nature of the threats.

But looking back I realize the oath failed to capture the heart of citizens’ obligations -- it talked only about resisting reactionary forces and didn’t speak to the democratic force we have to create. It made the mistake of talking about politics only as the rejection of injustice, not the process of creating justice and the means of achieving justice over the long term.

So, this time around, I want to update the oath: "