The Oath
Most people envision soldiers as brave, self-sacrificing people bearing arms and risking their lives to overcome violent threats to the nation. Although this particular sentiment is accurate, it is only a piece of the portrait.
Military personnel are not only heroes fighting physical threats, but while they are not in combat, they also serve as heroes in caring for their families, communities, and upholding their nation by committing to their civic duties. As
part of their civic duty, military personnel are expected to take an oath to the Constitution to protect the U.S. from foreign and domestic threats. Retired veteran Mike Duncan is well-versed with this process.
When Duncan first took his oath, he believed that he understood its meaning to keep the nation safe. It was fairly straightforward after all: fight against foreign and domestic threats. Years later however, a peculiar placard on a bicycle challenged Duncan’s understanding.
Placards and Patriots
A COS volunteer, also named Mike, was bicycling in Duncan’s neighborhood and had a COS placard mounted to his bike that captivated Duncan with curiosity. Duncan didn’t delay in doing his research, educating himself on what COS is all about, why it exists, and the power vested in the people to reclaim liberty.
Duncan then consulted his father about the matter, a
veteran who served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and World War II, and his father lectured Duncan to “not take freedom for granted.” From then on Duncan knew that if he did not pursue COS, he would be doing just that: taking for granted what every noble veteran has fought so hard to preserve.
Duncan was dumbfounded about how little he knew and shuddered at the thought of how little so many Americans know about the power to change the course of their nation. Although Duncan retired from the Air Force, he never retired from protecting his country. Duncan knew that misinformation and a scarcity of knowledge was a growing threat to freedom, and he was determined to make change happen.
Fighting for Liberty
Duncan sprung into action and became a COS volunteer activist starting out with garnering petition signatures, attending local meetings and continuing to learn about the ultimate goal of COS and any threats to the goal that he was determined to fight. He also became a Telepatriot Volunteer with COS, making calls that urged people to contact their legislators. Duncan later also devoted his time to being a District Captain, a leadership role with COS that helps recruit and train new volunteers, as well as educate people locally about Article V.
One of the obstacles Duncan faced while volunteering was misinformed legislators as well as legislators who did not know about
COS. Duncan responded to this predicament by taking the time to build relationships with the legislators to inform them about the COS cause and encouraging the grassroots to do the same. He became so impassioned with educating the people, that he taught a course about biblical citizenship and also became a Constitution coach with Patriot Academy, teaching people about the founding fathers’ intentions and how they thought through their idea for Article V and the constitution as a whole.
Grassroots: The Backbone of COS's Success
While teaching, Duncan emphasized the importance of the grassroots effort for the success of COS, stressing the fact that the closest people to the grassroots that can pass the COS resolution are the state legislators, typically living more than a few blocks away from grassroots; he noted that “people don’t realize how much they have by being so close to their state legislators.” He admires the hard work and dedication of the grassroots team and believes that their efforts are the key to the success of COS.
However, Duncan also observed that sometimes people can be too quick to give up as soon as they see a setback for COS or grow impatient. Nonetheless, Duncan remains optimistic as COS being the only viable hope for restoring America and encourages the grassroots to think the same. He hopes that by continuing to inform the public about calling an Article V convention he’ll be able to mitigate the threats of misinformation and lack of knowledge. To Duncan, his civic duty of protecting the nation did not cease to exist when he retired from the Air Force; if anything, Duncan unearthed its greater extent, to one that lives on today and one that every American should pursue. An Article V convention is the only hope left to restore America, and Duncan upholds the first oath he pledged to the military to this day as he continues serving the nation through COS, and encourages the grassroots to feel the same sense of civic duty too.
