Today is the 41st anniversary of my commissioning in the USAF...

My dad had a Betamax video camera which he wielded repeatedly. I’ve been looking at the few tapes of his that are now in my possession. Betamax players are hard to come by and, thankfully, my brother Joe had one that he let me borrow. 

I just finished reviewing one tape. It starts out with baptisms of two of my nephews and concludes with my commissioning in the air force. 

The juxtaposition of these two events - events with vows and oaths - provokes a lot of thought. The vow to “reject Satan and his work and all his empty promises” and the oath to “to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic...”  are particularly meaningful today.  A cult devoted to a dishonorable person who continually makes empty promises, a person who has asserted himself as the number-one domestic enemy of our Constitution, now holds unchecked and deadly power over the United States of America. 

It is a terrible time for our nation, but it’s been a long time coming. We have seen this erosion of truth and of our Constitution go unchecked from the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh, AM talk radio and FoxNews leading the way. I think there has always been a hope that people would come to their senses and reject the easily-refuted propaganda, but it never happened. So here we are.

There is, however, a gift to our nation that this surrender of honor and rationality has wrought, and that is the gift of clarity. Many gray areas have transformed dramatically into black and white. The time is fast-approaching (one could argue that it has already arrived) where you are either in, or supporting with your silence, the demonic, Constitution-destroying cult or actively engaged against it. For those who still honor their baptismal vows, their oath of office, or both, the path forward is stark and a little sad. 

I have been, for many years, a practitioner of non-violent action for change. Seeing the recent sacrifices made by peaceful people in our nation to honor their vows and their oaths is sobering, yet inspiring. 

Here is a short video of my commissioning in the USAF - exactly 41 years ago today. When I watch it, I can feel the intense joy of diverse people united in the purpose of perpetuating democracy and freedom. I hope that you can feel that too. It is a good thing to do good things with others, even when it entails great risk. And I am looking forward to doing good things this year with others. 

Much peace! Much love! Maeve