Fifty three years ago I took an oath, as a young military officer, to defend my country and our Constitution against attacks by all enemies, be they foreign or domestic. During my military career, and my subsequent service with the Department of Justice, I repeated that sacred oath many times. And I did my very best to live in a manner faithful to that oath.
This morning and this week, our nation is facing an existential threat from disgruntled followers of Donald J. Trump, who promise to return to our capital city and to all fifty state capitals with deadly weapons to finish what they started last Wednesday and provide a violent and definitive nationwide solution to what they falsely claim was a stolen election. Law enforcement authorities are really stretched to the limits in trying to defend elected public officials and government facilities. This is the single most dangerous crisis we have faced in my lifetime. And it has made us very vulnerable to attacks by hostile foreign powers.
All this is being orchestrated and inspired by the lies and seditious rhetoric of our President as well as his supporters in and out of government. Rioters at the Capitol last week included members of our law enforcement community, aided and abetted by sympathetic members of the Capitol Police. And yes, rioters included some active duty and retired military personnel. All of which makes it clear to me that our civilian law enforcement personnel are not a sufficient force to prevent or minimize the killing of public officials and secure government facilities. I could not believe videos showing the President and his family watching the rioters from a safe location on television, celebrating their aggression and ignoring frantic calls from the Capitol for help in defending our duly elected public officials and their staffs. Shame!
Federal law and tradition say our armed forces should not be used to enforce the civil law. I get that. There is an understandable reluctance on the part of our senior military leaders to deploy their forces to augment civilian law enforcement, even in cases of domestic terrorism. And yes, the chain of command runs from the President through the Secretary of Defense to the major combatant commanders. But when the Commander in Chief is instigating a domestic insurrection, and has conveniently replaced key civilian leaders in the Pentagon with his loyalists, what more do General Milley and the Joint Chiefs of Staff need to intervene?
Should our armed forces, in violation of their sacred oath, remain on the sidelines while committed and well armed domestic terrorists pursue a comprehensive and nationwide assault on our duly instituted government authorities? Should they take a pass? My answer is NO! As a noted Supreme Court Justice once wrote: “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.” In other words, we are not to act like a circular firing squad when faced with an existential threat.
I know many will say that military intervention will set a dangerous precedent, and may make matters worse. But remember the sacred oath. Many have given their lives in living out that oath. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley don’t get it. They are complicit, putting political ambitions far above loyalty to the Constitution. Trump not only doesn’t get it, he appears to loath it.
I am sure many in our armed forces were supporters of Trump, and some may still be sympathetic to his unholy cause. But this is a time for senior military leadership to swiftly deploy strike forces, including air assets, into the areas of likely conflict, working closely with FBI, state and local police and deployed National Guard forces. We need such an overwhelming show of force that the losers, cowards, bigots and traitors in the rebellious force, with their Confederate and Trump flags, and a few with shirts saying six million dead Jews wasn’t enough, quickly surrender and are ALL taken into custody and detained as the insurrectionists they have shown themselves to be. It will be wrong if the military waits until after successful attacks to step in and try to pick up the pieces. It would be a gross betrayal of their sacred oath. This is NOT about peaceful protest! It is a domestic insurrection, wrapped up in unlawful First and Second Amendment claims of freedom. Do not be deceived.
And a final word about our churches. A small number of courageous pastors spoke out this past Sunday about the need for members of their flocks to repent...and acknowledge that they have made an idol out of a demonstrably evil man. But most pastors and other leaders just treated it as any other Sunday, sticking with their normal sermon plans. As my brother Ed Stetzer rightly wrote, it is high time for Trump apologists in the church to publicly repent. They have yoked themselves and their souls to a man with no demonstrable fruits of the spirit, and whose life is the absolute antithesis of the teaching of Jesus and His Gospel. They have neglected and even abused the law of love, the greatest commandment, in order to secure specific legal and policy objectives through the exercise of raw political power. In the process, their Christian witness has been badly compromised. They have emphasized the evangelism and piety components of Christ’s mission and failed to connect it to justice and politics. They need to get on their knees and repent, as Pastors Matt Chandler and Samuel Rodriguez urged from their pulpits last Sunday. Forgiveness is promised for those who repent. They need not continue living in shame. Just honestly admit you were living in violation of Biblical teachings, turn around and live your faith in a way that attracts others.
To those of my friends and family whom my posts have deeply offended, please be honest and look yourselves in the mirror. Would you really prefer to live in an autocracy that supported your faith, or a democracy that tested it? This may be a choice you have already made, but I pray you give it further thought.
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