Is Kit Thornton an "Oathbreaker?!"

Spoiler: No, but some people don't understand the oaths they take.

Always good to hear from those of my fans who are insufficiently medicated:

“You are disloyal to the President! You are a veteran and you took an oath of loyalty. Traitor!!!”

This is the oath I took:

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) 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; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

It is worth noting that when someone asks (or demands) that you take an oath, they do so because they have cause to believe you might regret your promise later.

But let's look at that oath for a moment.

The first thing that I am sworn to support and defend, and bear true faith and allegiance to is the Constitution of the United States. After that, I swore to obey orders from the President and officers. I rather think that the first is more important than the second, when a choice must be made.

It is also significant that those orders are subject to “regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.” Illegal orders are not to be followed. The UCMJ says:

§890. Art. 90. Willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer

Any person subject to this chapter who willfully disobeys a lawful command of that person's superior commissioned officer shall be punished.

The key word here being “lawful.” A soldier who obeys an order that is clearly unlawful is subject to military justice for doing so. The “Nuremberg Defense” was a loser, as it should have been. Lt. Calley's defense for leading the massacre at My Lai, was that he was following orders from his superiors. He was convicted of murder. Soldiers are not supposed to be moral robots.

Of course, I stopped being a soldier in 1985. The UCMJ doesn't apply to me, anymore. I am left with my own conscience about whether Trump's commands are legal or not.

It's not a difficult call.

Further, the President is not, in his person, entitled to loyalty. The nation is.

“Our loyalty is due entirely to the United States. It is due to the President only and exactly to the degree in which he efficiently serves the United States. It is our duty to support him when he serves the United States well. It is our duty to oppose him when he serves it badly...

...To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we must stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

- President Theodore Roosevelt

I'll go with Teddy, here.