The Oath

Something has been weighing on me and I need to put it into words.

I served in the U.S. Air Force. I took an oath to defend the Constitution, not a person or party, against enemies both foreign and domestic. Anyone who served in the United States Armed Forces also took this oath. That oath meant everything to me and still does.

I know people — good people, kind people, people who would show up for you without hesitation — who voted for Trump. And I find myself both liking them and being troubled by them at the same time. That tension tears me apart inside.

I didn’t agree with George W. Bush politically. But it never made me dislike a person for voting for him. It was just a difference in how we thought to solve problems. Different philosophies. Different approaches. But we were still operating inside a shared space — democracy, decency, a common reality.

Trump destroyed that shared space. He made everything a loyalty test. And suddenly a political difference doesn’t just feel like a difference in policy, it feels like something deeper. Something that touches the oath myself and many men and women took.

Things that should never be political are now political. Science. Decency. Elections. The free press. Basic human dignity. And navigating all of it is exhausting in a way we never experienced before him.

I don’t hate the people in my life who voted differently than I did. But I hate what this political moment has done to my ability to simply enjoy those relationships without complication.

That loss, the ability to disagree politically and still just like someone without all of this weight, is real. It will not be easy to get it back. The road will be long, but it is worth it.

To my fellow veterans especially: we took the same oath. That should mean something beyond party lines. It is up to us to protect what America should be, the land of the free, for all, not some.

Do you feel that tension too — liking someone and being troubled by their politics?
Tell me about it in the comments below.