Michael Connelly
Duty, Honor...and What?
June 3, 2010

The motto of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York is "Duty, Honor, Country” and it has been important to all the members of that august military school who have graduated from it and served our nation though the wars they have fought for many years. Yet, according to the current president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, (yes, I am being politically incorrect by citing his full name), that has now been changed to "Duty, Honor, and the New international Order”. In other words, our country is no longer relevant in his eyes.

On May ,22,2010 when the President made his commencement address to the graduating cadets who have made it their job to defend our country, he effectively threw our nation under the bus and he stopped being the President of the United States and became the leader of the world, or at least his vision of that world. Unfortunately for him, the fact that most of the other leaders in the world now view him as a weakling and a joke didn’t faze him. His ego is too immense for that.

So what is this New International Order? Well, according to Obama, "The international order we seek is one that can resolve the challenges of our times,'" he said. "Countering violent extremism and insurgency; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and securing nuclear materials; combating a changing climate and sustaining global growth; helping countries feed themselves and care for their sick; preventing conflict and healing its wounds." The response of these graduating cadets and their families was lukewarm at best. In fact, they appeared to be stunned by his remarks.

When you add to this speech the recent remarks the President made in his joint press conference with Mexican President Calderon, when he basically declared that our borders are no longer relevant we get a clear picture of where he plans to take us. This means that that anyone, including International terrorists who cross our borders for the sole purpose of killing Americans, are now free to enter our country.

I am a Constitutional lawyer and I believe in our Constitution so I analyze everything from that perspective. The Constitutional implications of this "New International Order” are immense and very dangerous to our country. There are few countries in our world that provide the protections to their citizens that we provide in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Most other nations do not aggressively protect freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press like we do. They do not protect their citizens from illegal searches and seizures or provide them the right to a speedy trial by a jury of their peers if they are charged with a crime. In addition, they certainly don’t protect the right of their citizens to "keep and bear arms.”

Yet, our President is making moves to side step these rights. He and his Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, have decided to sign the United Nations "Small Arms Treaty,” which they believe will effectively destroy the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. They believe they have the votes in the U.S. Senate to ratify this treaty and then start eliminating the weapons that many Americans keep in their homes for their personal protection.

However, they have a problem. In 1957 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that International Treaties, even if signed by the President and ratified by the Senate, do not take precedence over the provisions of our Constitution. Obama hopes to avoid this by appointing new members to the Supreme Court that believe that the Constitution is no longer relevant and will support his view that he can do anything he wants through treaties. I don’t believe he has the votes yet in the Supreme Court to accomplish that, but we can take no chances. Sixty seven members of the U.S. Senate must vote to ratify such a treaty so we must inundate our Senators with phone calls, faxes, and emails to let them know they will be hdld accountable if they vote for ratification.

As Americans who cherish our freedom we must understand that this new "International Order” will destroy our legacy as a free people. We will be subjected to the will of a government that has no regard for us a nation, but instead subjects us to the rule of individuals with their own agendas that replace the rule of law on which our nation was founded. I for one am not a subject of the Government of Obama’s vision of the United States or of the United Nations. I am a free American and I live and if necessary will die as such.

I am an American who believes in the provisions of the U.S. Constitution that recognize my rights. These are not rights given to me by our government, but rights that are inherent and cannot be taken away by Congress or by the President. These include my right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to keep and bear arms in defense of my family and my country. I will not allow these rights to be stolen from me by my government or some vague "new international order.

When I took my oath as an officer in the United States Army, I swore specifically as follows:

"I, Michael Connelly, having been appointed a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army under the conditions indicated in this document, do accept such appointment and 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 faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.”

This oath is specific. I took it and pledged to defend my country and its principles as stated in the Constitution. I did not swear to support any individual such as a particular President of the United States or any political party and I certainly did not swear allegiance to a "New International Order.” Yet, while President Obama and members of Congress took a similar oath they are choosing to ignore it and attempt to subject us to the whims of a few individuals who will take us back to the days prior to the American Revolution when Americans were subjects of a European empire and not a free people.

I encourage everyone to read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and then swear your allegiance to it. 

Then let every member of Congress that represents you know that you have read these documents and intend to enforce them, and that you expect your elected representatives to abide by the oath of office they took to uphold the Constitution. Let them know that failure to do so will result in your vote against them in upcoming elections.

Duty, Honor, Country still has meaning to me and my fellow veterans, and I hope it has meaning to you too.