“I promise on my faith that I will in the future be faithful to the lord, never cause him harm and will observe my homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit.” – Oath of Fealty
Middle Ages Feudalism was based on the exchange of land for military service. King William the Conqueror used the concept of feudalism to reward his Norman supporters, or vassals, for their help in the conquest of England. The land belonging to the English was taken and given to Norman Knights and Nobles. A vassal would swear allegiance and pay homage to his lord in a commendation ceremony. The commendation ceremony was designed to create a lasting bond between a vassal and his lord. Fealty and homage are a key element of feudalism. The ceremony consisted of swearing the Oath of Fealty and the act of homage.
In 21st century America, we no longer require people to pledge an oath of fealty, or loyalty. Or do we? Turns out that Donald Trump tried and failed at that fealty thing. On the 7th day of Trump’s administration, he summoned (not invited, but ‘summoned’) FBI Director James Comey for a private, one-on-one dinner. During the dinner, according to Mr. Comey, Trump asked him to pledge loyalty to him. Comey demurred, telling him instead that he would always be honest with him, but could not promise what he, Trump, was asking. (Note: F.B.I. directors are not supposed to be political loyalists, which is why Congress in the 1970s passed a law giving them 10-year terms to make them independent of the president.)
Shortly after the aforementioned dinner, Mr. Comey related the conversation to two trusted associates on the condition that they not discuss it publicly while he was F.B.I. director. They didn’t, but now that Mr. Comey has been fired, they felt free to discuss it on the condition of anonymity.
Trump, of course, denies that the conversation ever transpired, saying that Comey had requested the meeting and that the issue of loyalty was never raised. Believe who you wish, but frankly Mr. Comey’s story sounds the more plausible of the two, and Comey, though not flawless, has shown himself to be a man of integrity, whereas Trump is a proven, compulsive liar who often does not seem to recognize the difference between truth and fantasy. Throughout his career, Trump has made loyalty from the people who work for him a key priority, often discharging employees he considers insufficiently reliable, so one does not even need to stretch one’s imagination to envision the scenario as Mr. Comey told it.
And, we all know that Trump seeks revenge against those who do not put him in a favourable light, and today was no exception. He took to Twitter early this morning to threaten Mr. Comey:
- “James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” (Note that Comey has not made a public statement, nor given any indication of intention to speak to the press)
And more disjointed, disconnected tweets in the past 24 hours:
- As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy! (We stopped expecting accuracy from the WH some 3+ months ago, but for the President to admit that nothing coming from the White House can be believed is … unconscionable!)
- …Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future “press briefings” and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???
- Again, the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election.
- Russia must be laughing up their sleeves watching as the U.S. tears itself apart over a Democrat EXCUSE for losing the election.
- We finally agree on something Rosie. (Rosie O’Donnell and Trump have had an ongoing feud since 2006 … guess he decided to resume the battle)
- The Fake Media is working overtime today!
Does any single one of these ‘tweets’ sound like the speech of a sane person? No, they are the irrational, disjointed ramblings of a man for whom sanity is an abstract concept!
Trumpty-Dumpty proposed a great wall,
Trumpty-Dumpty had a great fall,
All the dumb aides and all the white men,
Couldn’t save old Trumpty in the end.