(x-posted at Orange)
Where does the concept of an oath come? Why do we, as honorable people, hold an oath with such sanctity? These questions have been in my mind as I have witnessed, and sometimes participated in, the impeachment debate. It touched a nerve within me again as I read Mike Stark’s excellent diary. Nevertheless, I would like to stress that my musings here are no longer about impeachment and I rather not delve too deeply into those waters as much as possible as there are others here, on both side of the debate, who have so eloquently stated and argued, passionately, both sides of the debate. In other words,
“I’ve come here to bury Caesar, not to praise him.”
I may perhaps, only partially, answer the questions above. I am a budding expert at the advanced graduate level, of medieval Germanic literature. Although there are many more explanations, I can point out where the roots of an oath lie within my own narrow field. There are others who study the Classics, such as Homer and Virgil, as well as Eastern Literature who are also able to point out attitudes within their field as well, but I will stick to my own.
The oral and later written poetry of the early Germanic tribes was driven by the plot device and function of the oath, the blood oath, family ties and loyalty to kin. In these old stories, we find that the act of the oath will trigger and play an all-encompassing role on the tragedy of the Saga. It may be argued that the oath is the raison d’être of these old tales in Saga and Romance. What does this tell us other than a good story and ripping yarn? For one, it tells us (as literature, the musical arts, and fine arts are a reflection of society and culture) that the idea, the concept of an oath was regarded as perhaps one of the most important human qualities in human relations of the time.
Ok, but what does that have to do with today and us?
Our culture, for good or ill, is truly based on Western Civilization humanities, with influences from other cultures naturally since the United States is such a wonderful melting pot. Truly, however, Classical and European humanities cannot be dismissed in our culture, in our way of thinking and our outlook to the material world in which we live. Habeas Corpus is only one example of this. In the same way, our concept of the oath was passed down to us. The concept of the oath is larger than just an official oath, such as an oath of office. We use it every day. We use it in the form of promising to repay our debts, we use it when we vow ourselves to our significant other to be true and faithful, in other words, we use the concept of the oath when we give our word.
It is still strong in our culture, even our pop-culture. Bob Mould once sang:
It used to be that a handshake was a man’s word
Now they settle arguments in court
No one trusts
Anyone’s intentions anymore– “Compositions for the Young and Old”, Workbook
Yes, our word, our oaths to one another, is the glue that holds our society together in trust, faith, and honor. Without our oaths, those concepts, those ideas or ideals would just be arbitrary words. Therefore, it struck me deeply, when Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated this:
“Well, yeah, the Constitution is worth it if you can succeed.” – emphasis mine.
Followed by this:
“I take very seriously the pledge, the oath of office that we make to the Constitution – as does every person in our Congress.”
To be fair to Madam Speaker, I understand that she going about fighting for the system of checks and balances in a different way. Regardless, it is also a method that I believe to be false and misguided.
This brings us to the argument of the pragmatists and the idealists on the impeachment issue. I confess to being in the idealist camp, and very partisan about it. Look, it is very simple, without the ideals, the idealism, behind that document we call The United States Constitution, it is only a series of arbitrary words. Or as someone else put it in a more vernacular way: “it’s just a piece of paper”. That is true when it is devoid of the ideals, the meaning, behind it. In order to preserve those ideals against arbitrariness, they must never be sacrificed, even if it means fighting to the last in a lost battle. When we lose those ideals, especially without even attempting to fight for them, we lose our souls, or more secularly, our identity to the easy, pragmatic road of arbitrariness. It should be remembered that arbitrariness is a primary nature and quality of totalitarianism.
Allow me finally, to provide less of an abstract example, but a hypothetical example nonetheless.
In my enlisted military experience as well as my commissioned experience, I swore to similar oaths to which the members of the US Congress swear. I gave my word of honor, on pain of death, to uphold that oath. And before you accuse me of hyperbole, let me state that I honored that oath, under those conditions, when I earned my Combat Infantryman’s Badge on the battlefield.
Now think about this, what if a service-member on the battlefield conflicted with their sworn duty, their word of honor, is faced with a losing battle that may cost them and their peers their lives. Furthermore, what if the service member simply stated:
“Well, yeah, the Constitution is worth it if you can succeed.”
And left the battle. Not only taking back their word of their official oath, but also their unwritten oath to their comrades-in-arms. Or as the Ranger Creed states:
“Never shall I fail my comrades. […]”
Now imagine if a whole unit with their officers simply stated:
“Well, yeah, the Constitution is worth it if you can succeed.”
Do not believe for a moment that Washington D.C. is not a battlefield. Do not for a moment believe that we are not in a political struggle and a political war within our very country. It is not fought with bullets and air strikes but rather rhetoric and laws. What makes this war even more significant and vital than one on a military battlefield where people die is that it is the very ideal of our identity as Americans that is at stake here. The reason people like others and myself who join the military are willing to lay our lives down – is for those very ideals!
It is not whether we have a criminal in the White House or not. Impeachment is not the means in itself or the desired goal: it is a necessary implied task to reach the goal. The desired goal is to restore our ideals, it is to restore not only who we are as Americans, but to correct our past misdeeds and make ourselves better according to the code of our ideals: the Constitution.
If Madam Speaker and all the members of those hallowed halls truly “[…] take very seriously the pledge, the oath of office that we make to the Constitution […]”, then it is time for them to honor their oaths, regardless if the battle is lost or not. Not to us, the Democratic Party nor even We The People, but rather to the fundamental grounding of our entire identity: The United States Constitution.
They gave their word.