"The People Are Not Okay": Noblesville Veteran Leads Inspiring Local, State Protests

On March 15, I put on my uniform for the first time since I swore my son into the Air Force in 2020. I talked to the crowd at the 50501 protest in downtown Indianapolis about what the oath of office means in relation to the Constitution. At another protest the day before, the crowd was much smaller, and that can be disappointing. My wife Sandy and I also walked over to a support rally on the circle for Mahmoud Kahlil, the first student to be arrested by ICE. We told them we support them and if they wanted to send someone over to speak, we'd like them to. They did. 

I'm writing to ask you to please move outside your comfort zone.  The protests have been peaceful. 50501 does not condone violence. We have moved outside our comfort zone because we believe that peaceful protests are a way to get the message out.  We need your help. We will be protesting every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 4–6pm along SR 32 at Federal Hill Park in Noblesville. Please join us. 

March 15 Protest Speech

The text of my speech is below.

Hello, my name is Brian Jonasen. I’m a 30-year active-duty veteran of the US Air Force. During my time in the service I never saw combat. I spent my time in support roles, working with my civilian counterparts, ensuring our men and women had the best equipment possible. Although I cannot speak specifically as a combat veteran, I do feel that I can speak for all that have served. I’d like to discuss my opinions about the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance as compared to the oath of office and the Constitution.

The Flag

First, regarding our flag: Some folks believe that veterans who served, and those that serve today, fought and in many cases died for the flag. This is not true; I will get to why I believe this later. The flag is only a symbol of this nation, a piece of cloth intended to unite, but as we see today it can be co-opted, hyper-corporatized, and used to divide. The flag belongs to all of us. If you display the flag every day, it does not make you more of a patriot. I've seen plenty of flags left to hang, sun-bleached and tattered, and I can't help but think it is a metaphor for the time we live in. I recommend we display the flag to signal our hope when the rare bit of good news is announced. I haven’t hung it upside down in distress yet; the whole reason I’m engaged in all these activities is to do my part to ensure that I never need to hang a flag in distress. But I’ve been tempted lately.

The Pledge

So what about the Pledge of Allegiance? The pledge we grew up reciting in the classroom was to an object—the flag—or is it? The pledge is to the flag, but also “to the republic, for which it stands, one nation.” The pledge evolved from the Civil War, intended to unite the two sides under one flag. The pledge is important as a reminder, as a promise that we remain indivisible. Out of the Civil War, the flag and the pledge emerged as symbols of hope, not hate. 

I believe the flag and pledge are not enough. As a veteran I currently see the flag and the pledge as patriotic lip-service, a veneer of sorts, accompanied with various renditions of the national anthem. Don't get me wrong, I’m not disparaging the flag, pledge, or the anthem. In the right situations, it still gets me choked up—and it should do that to all of us. What I’m saying is that there is something more, something much deeper that we all must understand better and take to heart; that “something” is the Oath of Office and the Constitution. 

The Oath of Office

I'd like to start by reciting for you the actual oath of office. We have seen this from time to time at an inauguration, but I want you to really listen (put your phones away):

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

Now I'd like to point out that this oath is taken by people who are actually elected, and it is not taken by "special government employees,” such as the one who is cavalierly destroying the VA—Elon Musk.

The Oath of Office dates back to the first Congress of 1789; in essence it is the companion to the constitution, has been amended (particularly after the Civil War), and continues to be recited by those entrusted to protect it. Military members are not the only folks that swear this sacred oath—members of all three branches of government, from the president on down, swear an oath to the constitution; this includes officers of the law, as well as lawyers and civil servants. It is only the military and law enforcement officers that guarantee the oath with their lives. I think many of our elected officials need to take their oath more seriously. Actually, I wonder if many take the oath seriously at all. To many of us it is a matter of life or death.

And I'm going to say it explicitly and out loud: many if not most of our elected officials are currently in violation of their oaths of office.

I'm going to say it explicitly and out loud: many if not most of our elected officials are currently in violation of their oaths of office.

I took my first oath at the age of 18, as a Cadet at the Air Force Academy, then again when I was commissioned four years later. Members of the military repeat the oath at each reenlistment or promotion. When I was a maintenance officer, I had the honor and privilege to swear in the women and men in my maintenance flight who reenlisted. When I became a senior officer I had the privilege to swear in those junior officers I worked alongside with, when they were promoted. One of my proudest moments as a father was swearing in my son. My daughter wants to be a flight nurse, and I’m conflicted as a parent and veteran, but would be so proud to do that again. All in all, I’ve recited the oath more times than I can remember. And though I have been retired for nearly 11 years, I believe the oath still applies to me. I am not alone in that belief.

Among the many servicemen and women who have served, I’d like to mention one senior officer in particular: General Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

General Milley served a long and honorable career, only to be dishonored by the current president and current secretary of defense. The Trump administration is trying to actively erase history by removing General Milley’s pictures from the Pentagon—both as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs as well as Commander of the US Army. (Not to mention the removal of actively serving senior officers because of their skin color, sex and/or sexual orientation, as well as removing historical pictures from DoD databases, based on ridiculous word searches—but that's another story for another day.) 

General Milley on the occasion of his retirement said it best, so I will quote him directly:   

“We don’t take an oath to a king, a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator.

We don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.

We don't take an oath to an individual.

We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we are willing to die to protect it.”

General Mark Milley is a hero.

The Constitution

MAGA and the Republicans can hug and wave the flag all they want. We have something bigger than that—a short document of huge ideals; this is our battle standard, this is our rallying cry—it is called the US Constitution.

Now, your homework assignment is to read it! Additionally, read a copy of the Oath of Office. There is nothing keeping you from personally vowing to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC.”

Ignorance Is Violence—Knowledge Is Freedom

I’d like to finish with the following thoughts:

Ignorance is NOT bliss; ignorance is violence. To quote Emma Goldman “The most violent element in society is IGNORANCE.” But also, one of my favorite jazz artists, Miles Davis, is attributed as saying “Knowledge is FREEDOM.” (Socrates said something similar first—but I like Miles.) I choose knowledge.

Thank you.

– Brian Jonasen