My how the year 2025 is unfolding!
Seventy-seven days ago, at the time of writing, on January, 20, 2025 the 47th President of the United States took the Oath of Office which reads thus:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States.
Listening to the president take that Oath and later that same month, in Bermuda, I also listened attentively to the 135th governor of Bermuda take his Oaths and Affirmations. And further, following the February 17, 2025 general elation, again I listened intently to Bermuda’s 15th premier and several of his ministers swear/affirm their Oaths and Affirmations.
It became patently clear that neither the Oath of Office of the President of the United States nor the Oaths and Affirmations of the Governor of Bermuda nor the Premier of Bermuda and his ministers require them to swear to tell the truth.
The President of the United States swears to uphold the constitution of the United States, the Governor of Bermuda, the Premier of Bermuda and his Ministers swear that they will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third, and to serve His Majesty and execute the said office.
But nothing about being truthful.
If truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues, why is it that the most powerful leader in the western world, why is it that governors, prime ministers, and premiers in the British Commonwealth do not swear to tell the truth?
We all are now patently familiar with the myriad radio and television court dramas in which all witnesses swear or affirm before giving their evidence from the Witness Box, namely:
“I swear by almighty God that I shall well and truly try and true deliverance make, between our sovereign the king and the prisoner at the bar, whom I shall have in charge, and a true verdict give according to the evidence.”
And, for those who affirm:
“I do solemnly and sincerely affirm that I shall well and truly try and true deliverance make, between our sovereign the king and the prisoner at the bar, whom I shall have in charge, and a true verdict give according to the evidence.”
So, it seems that it is only in our courts that we swear or affirm to tell the truth but not in other high elected or appointed offices of State and those in such high offices swear or affirm not to divulge information that they are exposed to in such offices.
In most of the scriptures and Holy books I have researched, the one word that stands out glaringly is the word ‘truth’.
Examples: O my God, aid Thou Thy servant to raise up the Word, and to refute what is vain and false, to establish the truth….
From Psalms 51:6: “But lo, Thou requires truth in the inward parts, and shall make me to understand wisdom secretly.”
From the Quran: “We have revealed to you ‘O Prophet’ this Book with the truth as a confirmation of previous Scriptures and as a supreme authority on them. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires over the truth that has come to you.”
And from the Baha’i Writings: “If any one of you be employed in government offices let him discharge his responsibilities with absolute truthfulness, with moral rectitude, integrity, uprightness, sanctity and detachment. Let him uphold undeviating justice and fair-mindedness. Should anyone, God forbid, manifest one iota of dishonesty, or show laxity and negligence in carrying out his duties, or unlawfully exact money from the people, be it even a single penny, or secure private gains for himself, or seek personal benefits, such a person will surely be deprived of the blessings of the Almighty. Beware, beware, lest we fall short of what hath been set forth in this letter.”
And yet again in another source: ‘While the setting up of parliaments, the organizing of assemblies of consultation, constitutes the very foundation and bedrock of government, there are several essential requirements which these institutions must fulfil. First, the elected members must be righteous, God-fearing, high minded, incorruptible. Second, they must be fully cognizant, in every particular, of the laws of God, informed as to the highest principles of law, versed in the rules which govern the management of internal affairs and the conduct of foreign relations, skilled in the useful arts of civilization, and content with their lawful emoluments.
Let it not be imagined that members of this type would be impossible to find. Through the grace of God and His chosen ones, and the high endeavours of the devoted and the consecrated, every difficulty can be easily resolved, every problem, however complex, will prove simpler than blinking an eye.
If truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues, then surely without truthfulness progress and success in all the worlds of God are impossible for any soul.
So, the next time you view or witness a swearing-in ceremony of a Prime Minister or a Governor-General or any President anywhere in our world listen closely to the Oath of Office he/she takes.
