Testing Members of Congress Regarding the Constitution They are Sworn to Uphold

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) 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 well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

The above text comprises the oath of office that is administered to members of congress upon being sworn in to execute their posts at the beginning of their terms of office. It is a formality, but one that I think is critically important. I know that swearing an oath or giving one's solemn word in promise seems to be an antiquated and archaic notion these days. Indeed the concept of personal honor sounds more like the punch line to a joke in a David Letterman monologue.  The Good Lord knows that very few members of any party in congress actually seem to take this oath or their own personal honor seriously any more.

In fact, as highlighted in a previous posting of mine, many progressives seem to actually have a certain attitude of intentional neglect, if not outright disdain and contempt for our United States Constitution. Indeed, many of these folks either do not know the contents of the document and the ideals it represents that they are swearing to uphold, or they simply choose to ignore these inconvenient facts and use their swearing in as nothing more than a photo-op.

With this being the case, I am writing my senators and congressman asking them to draft and support a bill requiring that all members of congress must pass a comprehensive test of the contents and clear intent of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights prior to taking their oath of office. After all, how can they reliably and truthfully support and defend the Constitution if they are ignorant as to its contents?