Lives, Fortunes, Sacred Honor

We remember the final sentence of the Declaration of Independence:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

We remember as well the words that Nathan Hale spoke before the British executed him just over two months after the founders made that pledge:

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

Now consider the words that another patriot spoke this past Wednesday July 1, three days shy of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration:

“My name is Jason Watson. I’m an active duty major in the United States Air Force. However, who I am is immaterial. In the grand scheme of things, I’m just a nobody. What matters far more than who I am is what I have to say and the price I’m willing to pay to say it.”

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Maj. Watson introduced himself in this way at a press conference on the grounds of the Capitol, shortly before launching into an indictment of the president and the vice president. Upon the conclusion of the press conference, Maj. Watson committed an act of civil disobedience: he ascended the steps of the Capitol, planted himself in a location at which such demonstrations are not permitted, and held up a protest sign:

As Military Times reported, Capitol Police offered Maj. Watson an opportunity to cease his unlawful activity or face arrest. Maj. Watson declined. Military Times reported that in addition to prosecution under § 22–1307 of the District of Columbia municipal code for the misdemeanor offense of Crowding, Obstructing and Incommoding, Maj. Watson faces potential punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ):

Active-duty service members are strictly prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities, especially while in uniform, per the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Those who do can face criminal or administrative punishment, such as imprisonment, loss of pay, dishonorable discharge and more.

Maj. Watson surely knew that, unlike the founders and Nathan Hale, in undertaking this act he did not risk his life. He likewise understood that “the price [which he is] willing to pay” includes forfeiture of a measure of “fortune” in terms of his career, livelihood, and even his freedom. After introducing himself at the press conference, he provided some context for his willingness to take that risk:

I, Jason Paul Watson, do solemnly swear 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 upon which I’m about to enter, so help me God.

I first swore this oath over 20 years ago upon entering basic cadet training at the United States Air Force Academy in late June of 2005. I’ve repeated it many times over since then. The oath of office means everything to me. It is foundational to our system of governance in the United States. The oath ensures that officials of our government owe allegiance not to any individual or political party, but to our Constitution and the democratic republic it represents.

Our Constitution binds us all together as Americans. Like countless veterans before me and military members serving now, I have devoted my life in service to our democratic republic, always doing my best to honor my oath and protect America against foreign threats. But the greatest threat to our democratic republic is not a foreign one. It is us, we the people, not just the left or just the right or just the center. All of us together define who we are as Americans. And like it or not, we have all played a part, myself included, and getting ourselves into this mess we are all in. The burden of that culpability is much heavier for some amongst us than others, undeniably. And for those with a lion share of guilt, such as those currently running the executive branch of the government, the bill must come due. But all of us have a share. For the past 18 months, we the people have allowed the highest levels of the executive branch of the federal government to violate our Constitution and their oath to it with impunity.

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence concludes as follows:

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

After listing King George’s offenses, the founders summed him up in the following sentence: “A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”

Below, with hyperlinks, are the facts that Maj. Watson “submitted to a candid world.” Dear reader, how do you respond?

When the president of the United States orders military action against foreign countries absent an emergency scenario where American interests are under imminent dire threat as was done with Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran, that’s an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s authority and a violation of the war powers clause. These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more.

For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed.

When the president of the United States grants an unelected mega donor sweeping authority to shut down large swaths of our federal government along with unrestricted access to our government databases, that’s an unconstitutional circumvention of Congress’s advise and consent authority under the appointments clause and Congress’s power of the purse under the appropriations clause. These violations exposed every American’s personal sensitive data to leaks and exploitation, illegally terminated tens of thousands of federal civil servants, and crippled support for Americans…to Americans for medical care and disaster preparedness, and by far most tragically resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of the world’s most impoverished people with inhumanely abrupt cessation of US aid.

For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed.

When the President of the United States directs the Department of Homeland Security to deny hundreds of people any due process before illegally detaining them and sending them to a foreign prison notorious for human rights abuses, that’s a violation of our Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights. Most people sent to CECOT never committed any violent crimes in their entire lives, but are being defamed as violent criminals to this day as a pretext for the torture they suffered in El Salvador, paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars.

For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed.

When the president of the United States sponsors violence on the American people engaged in their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest, that’s a violation of our First Amendment rights. Pastors praying for DHS agents violently attacked without provocation. A legal observer losing an eye after being shot with a non-lethal by an ICE agent. A woman attempting to follow chaotic and contradictory DHS agent instructions fatally gunned down. A subdued man that posed no threat fatally shot after having his unbrandished firearm removed, with statements by high-ranking cabinet members also violating our Second Amendment rights.

For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed.

There are innumerable more impeachable offenses that I could cover. Denying congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers that look increasingly like CECOT. Suing institutions like media, colleges, and law firms for billions of dollars while abusing the authorities of the executive branch agencies to extort settlements. Allowing a mega donor to advertise products on the White House front lawn. Trading pardons for donations, levying illegal tariffs, weaponizing the Department of Justice against political adversaries while ignoring crimes of supporters and enablers, attempting to reverse birthright citizenship through executive order.

For all of these high crimes and misdemeanors, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed.

Below are the resolutions to impeach President Trump that representatives have filed in the current Congress along with the sponsor and introduction date for each. One can read the resolutions’ text for the high crimes and misdemeanors each identified.

H.Res.353 – Rep. Shri Thanedar – 2025-04-28

H.Res.415 – Rep. Al Green – 2025-05-15

H.Res.537 – Rep. Al Green – 2025-06-24

H.Res.939 – Rep. Al Green – 2025-12-10

H.Res.1155 – Rep. John B. Larson – 2026-04-26

Below are the concluding three paragraphs of Maj. Watson’s speech (emphasis added).

The constitutional impeachment process is our best pathway to restore fidelity to our Constitution. This is why I’m here standing in solidarity with Representative Green. I am not here because I’m a Democrat or because I share his policy positions. I’m not a Democrat and know next to nothing about his policies. I am here with him because Representative Green is the only member of Congress that has demonstrated the courage and conviction to invoke Rule 9 and force a vote on articles of impeachment.

If Congress followed his example, we could remove the entire Trump administration. But Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity for them to honor their oaths. So, we must persuade them with our unrelenting, uncompromising civil resistance. I am calling on average Americans everywhere to peacefully exercise your First Amendment rights en masse every day until this administration is removed and our democratic republic is restored.

I believe in America. I believe in us. If just a nobody like me can take a stand for our Constitution and our democratic republic, then you can too. I hope you will join me in the defense of our republic. Thank you.

Civil resistance is not for everyone. Persuasion ought to be. We all must stand up for our Constitution and our democratic republic in whatever ways make sense to us individually. For some, that is as simple a matter as speaking to friends, family members, and colleagues. For others – for the friend, family member, or colleague – it can be the even simpler matter of listening in good faith.

Honor Independence Day.