In his speech last night, apparently Biden made an earnest appeal to the US military, asking them to "remember your oath" under the incoming administration. I can only assume he meant that he was advising them to defend the US Constitution and not to turn on US citizens (US soldiers are, of course, expected to go overseas before they start killing civilians).
This is great. I'm glad he said it. Because I just can't think of a better example of liberal faith in "democratic norms" and "institutions." And it's complete horseshit.
There's a reason why lawyers get so hair-splitty about legal phrasing: it's because words really can and do mean different things to different people. And also because people will sometimes interpret words in bad faith to their own advantage.
With that in mind, allow me to reintroduce you to an organization that you probably have heard a few things about (but maybe not enough) if you've paid any attention to the events of January 6, 2021. They're literally called "Oath Keepers."
And what oath are they keeping? From the start, the Oath Keepers have always been made up of current and former law enforcement officers and members of the US military. Founder Stewart Rhodes is a delusional prepper who believes that the US is constantly on the verge of becoming a "totalitarian state," and the only thing that can save us is the Constitution and those who have sworn to loyally uphold it, even if that means disobeying orders from their superiors. Those Constitution upholders are, specifically, the aforementioned cops and soldiers.
So that's who they are: a bunch of (overwhelmingly) dudes who think they are saving us all from totalitarianism by sticking to the Constitution.
But what, there's more...
After the 2020 election, when the right-wing conspiracy theorists were convinced that Ragnarök was upon us, there was a lot of talk about Trump invoking the Insurrection Act -- effectively declaring martial law, presumably nationwide. We don't really know what sort of scale it would have taken, because it just didn't happen, but it would have been a big deal, and the active duty military would have been stretched really thin, even with support from the National Guard. So who was going to step into the breach? Yup, the Oath Keepers.
The thing is, the Oath Keepers had a statement that they were all supposed to agree to containing a list of "orders we will not obey" on the grounds that those orders would ostensibly violate the Constitution. The list includes things like a refusal to blockade cities and turn them into giant concentration camps (The Road Warrior was just a movie, Stewart). It also includes a refusal to participate in imposing martial law. Stewart Rhodes very loudly called on Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, and as far as I know, he never publicly explained the apparent contradiction between that call and his opposition to martial law. But the thing is, it didn't matter. Rhodes and his minions were "Oath Keepers"! They're the most committed Constitution upholders in the country! If they're doing something, by god, that must be what the Constitution commands! Logic? Contradictions? Who cares?!
Anyways, the point is: cajoling people to adhere to some sort of abstract convention really means nothing if they've got a different understanding of what that convention is -- or if they're just bad actors who want power. The fact that people didn't learn that after Trump I is unfortunate; the fact that they still don't get it heading into Trump II is scary.
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