SPQR

This Memorial Day Weekend, let's think about what our soldiers have sacrificed so much for: to preserve our freedoms and a Constitutional Republic.

SPQR, or Senatus Populusque Romanus, was emblazoned upon the skin of Roman soldiers and the proud unit standards they carried into battle. It stood for allegiance to the Senate and People of Rome.

During the days of the Roman Republic, this acronym reminded a soldier of his duty and loyalty to the people. This Republic was unique among governments of men, whereby the people consented to being governed. Executive Consuls, similar to our Presidents, were elected to short terms of service by the Senate. This was to prevent a tyrant from arising and dispensing with the voice of the people.

The final fall of the Roman Republic came about when Julius Caesar marched from the battlefields of Gaul with his army and crossed the Rubicon River into Italy. Against the will of the Senate he then entered Rome and became a dictator; the force of his army was such that the people could no longer refuse to consent to the governing power, however corrupt it might be. And corrupt it would become.

During the Imperial era of Rome, SPQR continued to be imprinted upon soldiers and articles, but this was merely a hollow tradition. It carried over from the Republican era when citizen-soldiers were fighters for the people, instead of tyrannical dictators as most Caesars were.

Those of us today in the American military hold to a similar custom. Like a Roman soldier branded with the letters SPQR, our consciences have been marked with an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

This is an excellent time to consider the meaning of this oath, and the Creator before whom many of us have spoken it. May our generation not turn this oath into a hollow and meaningless tradition.