No kings
Our elected representative, Maggie Goodlander — a former Navy intelligence officer — released a video with five other lawmakers reminding U.S. troops that they must refuse illegal orders. In any normal, pre-MAGA era, this would have been seen as a basic, almost obvious and boring public service message.
But Donald Trump, who took the same oath to uphold the Constitution, responded by calling for Goodlander to be executed. A bomb scare was called into her office.
This raises a fundamental question: Are we governed by laws or by the will of a single person?
Our nation was founded on the idea — voiced by James Madison — that we are a nation of laws, not men.
At West Point, a prominent plaque reminds every cadet that Article VI of the Constitution requires military officers to swear loyalty to the Constitution itself. It also notes that unlike many nations, the U.S. has never experienced a military coup because our military obeys the law above any unlawful order.
Maggie Goodlander stood up for this core American principle: the rule of law — especially crucial at a time when the president is a convicted criminal. We should encourage all our elected officials to defend these foundational values. Contact your representative and ask if they intend to honor their oath to our Constitution, because that’s as American as apple pie.