 In this country, a country based on freedom and equality for all, it seems many times we forget the meaning of "all". One such instance is within the very boundaries of our judicial system.
How many times have you served on a jury, or been asked to take an oath, and in the process been asked to "place your hand on the bible and repeat after me- 'I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me god'. "? I was told that this practice is no longer in use, but guess what! It still IS in MANY places around the country!
This practice of 'swearing in' may be good for the god fearing religious right, but what of those who hold no value in the bible, and those who do not recognize nor believe in the christian god? Does that make their testimony and/or oath worthless?
Why would someone really care if they made a false statement if the things they are swearing on hold no value to them? Would they care if they made a false statement simply because they placed their hand on the bible? I think not. Myself, it would mean more to me if I was asked to "swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or forfeit all my valuables and possessions and receive extended holiday
accomodations in the company of 'BUBBA' in our own little love nest at the local Alcatraz Hotel". Now, THAT would be something worth swearing to! LOL!
Furthermore, for those sworn into office, this "swearing to god" is just as useless. So
they take an oath to uphold the laws of the US Constitution and protect 'ALL' (notice that
ALL again...) peoples rights and liberties, without bias or prejudice for race, creed, color, or religious affiliation, yet they start out with an oath that is OBVIOUSLY biased towards the christian faith and belief system. Again, what if... what if they do NOT believe or follow the christian faith, or believe in the christian god? Does this make their oath useless? It seems it would indeed!
My personal thoughts, we (the people of the US) need to reexamine our entire judicial system, to MAINTAIN the impartiality to ALL people of the nation in order to uphold justice equally for one and all!
Note: Support the separation of government and religion, to make America TRULY a nation "Of the people, by the people, and for the people" with TRUE liberty and justice for ALL! |
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