Two oaths, three Bibles. As a Canadian I think I understand the hows and the whys. Martin Luther King, Jr., yeah? And Abraham Lincoln. Very cool. And a family Bible for a private oath. Perhaps in the far future, some President-Elect will want to use the Obama family Bible for her oath. Eventually, maybe, a Yertle the Turtle-like stack of Bibles will be the norm, and the reason this won’t be silly is because these Bibles, mere books in and of themselves, take on talismanic significance when used in oaths of office.
A culture needs its talismans.
Clay goddess figurines in the Paleolithic. The aquila of Rome. The Star of David. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Bible.
I’m Canadian. So I have . . . the easy answer would be the Stanley Cup and Tim Horton’s donuts, but honestly, there’s so much more to being Canadian than that. Just don’t ask me to define what, exactly. We’re not very good at that. And anyway, it’s probably more accurate to say the culture to which I most strongly adhere is pop culture.
Pop culture is rife with talismans. Rife. People wear replica One Rings and Mockingjay pins and Boba Fett hoodies. Not to mention tattoos. I once went to New Zealand with a friend and in our little fellowship there may have been a plastic One Ring. And it’s possible we got matching Nazgûl tattoos while we were there. Maybe.
These types of talismans are identifiers. By wearing them we are signaling to others in our tribe that we are one of them. Like a secret handshake. There’s another type of talisman that I call Totems of Power. Hah, no I’m messing with you. I don’t really call them anything. But for lack of anything else to call them...
I’m talking about mental constructs that can be used to empower. Strengthen. Encourage. They make you better. The ones that serve me best in life are those that help me face fear. I’m a grown man with kids and I’m certainly not afraid of the dark, but there is fear and anxiety in my life, and I’m sure you can relate. I’m a little scared just typing those words, to be honest.
There’s that scene in Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King where King Théoden is giving the obligatory rousing speech to his troops before sending them madly into battle. He says something about a red dawn. The part that always get me is when Éowyn and the hobbit Merry, though they are visibly terrified, thrust their blades into the air, loose a howling battle-cry and charge. They’re scared but they do it anyway.
In the Green Lantern story arc The Sinestro Corps War, Geoff Johns has arch-enemy Sinestro, whose Corps exist to spread fear throughout the universe, taunting Hal Jordan. “You’ll never be without fear, Jordan.” Hal responds by saying that Green Lanterns aren’t without fear- a Green Lantern overcomes fear. Every time they face it. And then he punches Sinestro in the face. Pow. I think of that and it becomes easier to venture out to get groceries in a crazy snowstorm.
Angry? I silently scream “Serenity now!” along with Jerry Stiller. And remind myself where all of the Hulk’s incredible rage got him in Greg Pak’s opus Planet Hulk (spoiler alert- nothing good). Or I sing Metallica’s St. Anger to myself. It helps.
There are so many more. Mine skew heavily towards comics and early 90’s death metal. Yours might draw more from romantic comedies or Star Trek. Maybe Buffy.
I’d be glad to hear what yours are. I wonder if one of the President’s talismans is Yertle the Turtle. It certainly has life lessons any head of state would do well to heed.
