Unimpeachable Behavior
Apr. 18th, 2004 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
richardf8http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/32557
In the above MeFi post, the writer bemoans the fact that Clinton was impeached for nookie while Bush, who arguably led us to war under false pretenses is not being impeached.
Of course, Clinton was not impeached for the nookie. He was impeached for the perjury. Bush is not likely to make the same mistake. Hence his refusal to testify under oath before the 9/11 commission.
The lesson learned: Never, ever, ever say anything under oath. You have a right not to incriminate yourself, after all. It's in the constitution. And if you're rich and powerful, you get the full protection of the constitution. You just have to be cunning enough to use it.
In the above MeFi post, the writer bemoans the fact that Clinton was impeached for nookie while Bush, who arguably led us to war under false pretenses is not being impeached.
Of course, Clinton was not impeached for the nookie. He was impeached for the perjury. Bush is not likely to make the same mistake. Hence his refusal to testify under oath before the 9/11 commission.
The lesson learned: Never, ever, ever say anything under oath. You have a right not to incriminate yourself, after all. It's in the constitution. And if you're rich and powerful, you get the full protection of the constitution. You just have to be cunning enough to use it.
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-18 11:42 am (UTC)"Never, ever, ever say anything under oath"? How about "Say only the truth under oath"? Even if embarrassing, it won't get you a perjury charge.
Then again, I've taken interest in Matthew 5:34, where Jesus elaborates on the commandment against false swearing by telling people not to swear at all. Someone might use the passage to refuse getting sworn in at court.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-18 01:18 pm (UTC)"Moses received the Torah at Sinai, and handed it down to Joshua; Joshua to the elders; the elders to the prophets; and the prophets handed it down to the men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment; raise up many disciples; and make a fence around the Torah." (Pirke Avot I:1)
The above quote is an excerpt from the Mishnah, the foundational text of Rabbinic Judaism, which codifies the traditions and practices of pharisaic Judaism at the end of the second temple period. The last bit, "make a fence around the Torah," means that one should develop traditions that prevent people from even getting near the breaking of a commandment.
This is what Jesus is doing in the passage you cite. He's saying that since it is a sin to swear falsely, do not swear at all -- if you do not swear, you cannot swear falsely. However, I doubt he was suggesting this as a way to avoid giving honest testimony. It seems more likely that Jesus was counseling against invoking God's name in the matter of promises, advising people to say what they mean and mean what they say. He seems to regard oathmaking as the sort of hyperbole engaged in by the dishonest to persuade others (falsely) of their honesty.
As for getting out of being "sworn in" using such a reading, all that gets you is different language. You will, instead of swearing to God, attest that you will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, or face penalties for perjury. No god, no swearing, full legal obligation.