01.14.09
Obama’s Loyalty Oath
Before this country’s next President settles in to the Oval Office and gets down to business, he’s required to jump through a few hoops — walk in processions, attend a long parade and numerous balls, shake 1,428 hands and kiss 98 babies. Obama will perform some of these to meet the people’s supposed demand for pageantry, others to affirm his loyalty to the Constitution, and others to pretend his true loyalty is to a Christian nation.
The pomp and circumstance is scripted to satisfy the programming needs of television networks, and the odd desire of some to turn a democratic formality into a coronation ceremony worthy of a European monarchy.
But other parts of Inauguration Day are more important. For example, the President-elect must swear to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” If the day’s events were boiled down to this one solemn vow, perhaps presidents would remember that vow more clearly than the sight of thousands of fans treating them like royalty, or the horrible foot pain gained from countless balls in expensive and uncomfortable dress shoes.
“Just imagine the hubbub that would follow if Obama decided not to use a bible for his oath…”
George W. Bush did swear to “protect and defend” the Constitution, but when it came down to it he better defended his ranch from the advance of brush than the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. In a little-noticed executive order he signed earlier this week, he decreed the transcript of his Inauguration Day oath that will appear in his presidential library to be changed to read, “protect and defend the Constitution, when and if it conforms to my opinion on how best to protect the country, in light of an event which will occur nine months from now.”
(Of course, there was no such executive order, but the fact that that paragraph holds more truth than humor reflects one of President Bush’s worst legacies.)
Most of the coverage of the inauguration will surround the history and traditions of the events, the personalities in attendance, and the significance of this seating arrangement or that security precaution. But there won’t be much introspection on the religious rituals that are written into the script and demanded of the next U.S. leader. (Actually the President is only one of three leaders of the government.)
None of these religious rituals is demanded by the Constitution. They were all tacked on at one point or another, and continued by successive presidents fearful of appearing less religious than the last.
So before he ascends to the white mansion at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Barack Obama will be expected to do the following:
- Append the prayer “so help me God” to his oath
- Make that oath on a hardbound collection of religious stories
- Participate in an “invocation” of a supernatural power beforehand
- And accept a divine blessing from another Christian leader afterwards
Many actors are involved in this play, from the reverends who claim proximity to God to the Christian activists who would politically destroy any president who doesn’t bow before their god. And most of them know that all these rituals aren’t designed to strengthen the President’s humility or morality or subservience to God. After all, when enemies need to be smitten, it’s not the hand of God that’s called on but the earthly forces of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
In truth, the Christian rituals are little more than a loyalty oath, a way for a powerful yet insecure majority to have their fears and superstitions affirmed by their country’s chief and absorbed passively by all who watch.
Just imagine the hubbub that would follow if Obama decided not to use a bible for his oath or not to add “so help me God.” Pat Robertson would demand impeachment on the grounds of Satanic possession and Democrats would treat Obama as the political liability he would henceforth be.
That’s not to say most presidents aren’t happy to play along with these religious charades. Some surely want the voters to see their office stamped with God’s seal of approval, and others may truly feel they were elected to serve their God rather than the American people.
But the first group are cynical opportunists and the latter group simply mistaken. It’s high time to do away with these unAmerican oaths to the sky above and impress on our presidents that their only oath is to the Constitution.
That’s the book Obama should place his hand on.
chris said,
01.15.09 at 10:02 am
By the way, I’ve since learned that several Presidents throughout history, including Teddy Roosevelt, did not feel the need to swear on a bible, and John Quincy Adams used a book of law instead.
How times have changed.