Donald Trump says he never swore oath "to support the Constitution" - eviltoast
  • Pips@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    1 year ago

    Respectfully disagree. You’re talking about institutions that, frankly, a good chunk of these professions just do not support. Like there is a solid contingent of lawyers that fundamentally disagree with just outcomes since anything can be spun. You’ll find doctors everywhere that don’t support a universal right to life. Police, to be blunt, frequently and demonstrably do not give a shit about the laws they purport to uphold. Military have some brainwashing issues you have to take into account, but frequently their personal beliefs clash with their training.

    In all of these, the professional is legally required to defend certain principles that they might not personally support. I guess they professionally have to support them too, but at that point we’ve gone full circle

    • CapeWearingAeroplane@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I see your point, which is kind of what I meant about the exception for people that are “just there for the gig”. And I agree that when we take those into account, we have people who are legally required to defend/protect things they don’t personally support. I also think taking those people into account is a different kind of discussion, because then we’re talking about people taking an oath to uphold institutions they don’t believe in for self-serving reasons. Whether or not someone can faithfully do that is an interesting discussion in itself.

      • Pips@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        My point, ultimately, is it’s entirely possible to defend something you don’t personally support, which in turn would depend on the definition of support. I think it’s stupid and dangerous to entertain such alternative definitions in the broader context of the presidential oath of office. But it’s not inherently silly for a defense attorney to make the argument.