Squareinthecircle
8th September 2025, 22:53
A revisit
Excerpt:
"Law enforcement officers across the United States swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. In theory, this isn’t ceremonial. It’s presented as a binding commitment — a promise to protect civil liberties and to operate within constitutional limits.
And this wasn’t always seen as empty formality. The oath has deep roots in the early Republic, when loyalty was expected not to a king or superior officer, but to the Constitution itself. To swear it was to bind yourself publicly to principle, a visible act of allegiance to the idea that power must remain under law. In the 18th and 19th centuries, oaths were treated with near-religious weight. They were believed to carry not only legal obligation, but moral consequence. Breaking one was more than a breach of duty — it was a stain on a person’s honor.
But the structure surrounding the oath complicates its meaning today."
https://kevinboykin.substack.com/p/the-constitutional-oath-what-does-e7c?r=2ld5cy
Excerpt:
"Law enforcement officers across the United States swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. In theory, this isn’t ceremonial. It’s presented as a binding commitment — a promise to protect civil liberties and to operate within constitutional limits.
And this wasn’t always seen as empty formality. The oath has deep roots in the early Republic, when loyalty was expected not to a king or superior officer, but to the Constitution itself. To swear it was to bind yourself publicly to principle, a visible act of allegiance to the idea that power must remain under law. In the 18th and 19th centuries, oaths were treated with near-religious weight. They were believed to carry not only legal obligation, but moral consequence. Breaking one was more than a breach of duty — it was a stain on a person’s honor.
But the structure surrounding the oath complicates its meaning today."
https://kevinboykin.substack.com/p/the-constitutional-oath-what-does-e7c?r=2ld5cy