David Marshall

(8/2022) The men who were fortunate enough to become president of the United States make up a very small but prestigious group. Since the year 1789, only forty-five men have held the Office of President of the United States, and each of them were required to take an oath of office. Regardless of political ideology, the Office of President is meant to be a position of honor and respect nationally and world-wide. Therefore when a president takes an oath, it represents a public pledge and promise to the American people while acknowledging they fully understand the requirements of the position and will work to meet or exceed those requirements.

The president is a public servant to the people, and is bound by their oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. In addition to the president, the vice president, senators, representatives, judges, political appointees, military personnel and federal employees are also public servants who are also bound by the oath they take. What happens when public servants, including the president, decide to simply ignore their oath to the point where the words" I solemnly swear" becomes empty with no sincere intent or meaning? What happens when public confidence in our institutions decreases because a large segment of the general public sits back and allow elected officials to disregard their oath without any form accountability at the polls or otherwise?

Before January 6, 2021, America has never experienced a domestic attack on the United States capitol building. Of the forty-five men who held the highest office in our government, only one has proven to be an election denier (a person who refuses to accept the truth and validity of an election outcome despite the overwhelming evidence supporting it). Only one out of the forty-five has ever developed a cult-like following at the detriment of the Republic. How do we explain what we are seeing today in our nation? When a former president who is called to serve and defend the Constitution yet he seeks to remain in power by overturning a presidential election while supporting political violence to include the assassination of a sitting vice president?

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in New York on Feb. 6, 1964, about the Civil Rights movement and how people react to calls to serve. "Negroes are human, not superhuman" King said. "Like all people, they have differing personalities, diverse financial interests and varied aspirations. There are Negroes who will never fight for freedom. There are Negroes who seek profit for themselves alone from the struggle. There are even some Negroes who will go over to the other side." "These facts should distress no one," King explained. "Every minority and every people has its share of opportunists, traitors, freeloaders and escapists. The hammer blows of discrimination, poverty and segregation must warp and corrupt some. No one can pretend that because a people may be oppressed, every individual member is virtuous and worthy."

"Decency, honor and courage" King said, are the dominant characteristics to look for.

The historic struggle for progress, King told the audience, has always had "masses of decent people, along with their lost souls." What Dr. King is describing in 1964 remains a description of today’s American society in its entirety. There will always be men and women in position of trust and power from all walks of life who are corrupt. While it is troubling, it should not surprise us when the corruption is supported throughout the masses. When we look for examples of public servants consider, Dan Cox and Michael Cox. These men are public servants on the state and local levels, and they too are bound by a public pledge of integrity. One man embraces the pledge and its meaning, the other man does not.

With the recent results from the Maryland primary election it proves that election deniers are not only on state ballots, but they are winning. Dan Cox, as a first-term state delegate and endorsed by former President Trump, won the Maryland Republican gubernatorial primary. It is the same elected official who organized buses for supporters to attend the Jan. 6th "Stop the Steal" rally which he also attended. Despite having experience as a constitutional attorney, he is still an election denier who was critical of then-Vice President Pence for performing his constitutional duties of overseeing the Electoral College vote count. No vice president has the constitutional authority to overturn presidential election results yet state Delegate Cox, tweeted, "Pence is a traitor" as rioters were rampaging inside the Capitol. Not only does his tweet motivates an already angry mob to physically harm Pence, but it violates his oath to the people of Maryland to defend the Constitution against domestic enemies. While maintaining political allegiance to an individual rather than the Constitution, Dan Cox is now in position to become the next governor of Maryland.

Compare Dan Cox to Michael Cox who is a member of the Boston Police Department. Officer Cox, who is Black, was working undercover in plainclothes in January 1995, when his fellow officers mistook him for a homicide suspect and severely beat him. When they realized who he was, they left him there, unconscious and bleeding. The matter was covered-up by Boston’s blue wall of silence where officers would shield one another from accountability. Cox spent four years fighting his department in court before any of his assailants were disciplined. The city eventually paid him $1.25 million in damages and legal fees. Meanwhile, he was shunned. His tires were slashed. He received menacing phone calls. "After this incident happened, I had a choice — either quit or stay, and I chose to stay, because I believe in policing in a community-friendly way," Cox said. "And I know the men and women that I work with believe in that same thing, too."

Cox rose through the ranks within the department over 30 years only to leave to become chief of police in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Boston native who exemplifies a true public servant with decency, honor and courage returns home to become Boston’s next police commissioner. If the U.S. Senate members had the courage of a Michael Cox during the first impeachment of Donald Trump, January 6 would not have occurred.

David W. Marshall is author of the book "God Bless Our Divided America" and member of Country First. Country First is focused on recognizing that Republicans, Democrats and Independents don’t have to be enemies because they have different experiences and perspectives. To learn more about Country First visit www.country1st.com