GRIFFIN: Jan. 6 reminds us oath of office is sacred

Published 2:38 pm Thursday, January 6, 2022

Nine times over the course of my life I’ve taken a sacred and solemn oath to serve, protect and defend our constitution and our country. It’s sacred because for me, and millions of other civilians and service members alike, the words represent an unbreakable commitment to serve our country in a manner befitting our shared foundational principles of freedom and law-abiding justice. Each of those times, I swore to do my very best to further protect our country and communities from our enemies, both foreign and domestic.

On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of ordinary people from all walks of life, enraged by months of outright lies and deception, descended upon the United States Capitol with the intent to murder our rightfully elected officials and overthrow our government. Plain and simple, it was a seditious attack against our country. The rioters attacked and killed police officers, desecrated our capitol and sent shockwaves around the world revealing how incredibly divided our country has become.

Sadly, and tragically, this mob was fueled by lies and deceptions from elected officials at all levels of government, some of them living right here among us. Congressman Jody Hice, who is supposed to represent myself and my family in Milledgeville, was one of those elected officials.  He perpetuated the lies, stoked the flames of division and helped create the environment that pitted his countrymen against one another.  

Congressman Hice, too, has taken the same oath that I have. Were he a responsible and honorable leader, he would have known what the right thing to do was. However, he undeniably proved that he is willing to say and do whatever it takes to serve his own selfish interests.  He chose power instead of people.

As it stands now, Congressman Hice is a potential Republican frontrunner to become the next Secretary of State here in Georgia, a state who had endured so much scrutiny at our electoral result simply because people like Rep. Hice didn’t like the outcome of the most free and secure election in our history.

I’m running against so-called leaders like Rep. Hice because he has proven that he is wholly unfit to serve the people he represents.  He has shown us that he prioritizes his own career over the laws and principles that have made our country the beacon of hope and freedom that we are.  

If we are to heal this incredibly divided country that we have become, we must first reject the self-serving, dangerous and deadly ideology of people like Congressman Hice and restore the faith and trust of the people who are so desperately counting on us to provide the kind of leadership our state deserves.  

That is why, as a Democrat, I am running for Secretary of State and why I hope that so many of you reading this join me in this endeavor to stand up against the elected officials who have chosen to sacrifice their honor in exchange for their careers.

Floyd Griffin

Milledgeville