Reply #39: As to "lying under oath"

[geniph]

is that really relevant if the questions are things that should never have been asked? Does one have the right to obfusticate or even outright lie when asked personal questions whose answer is irrelevant to any but the parties concerned?

An example of this: your elderly auntie gives you a toilet-paper-roll cover she knitted in the shape of a doll with a long skirt. You think it is quite possibly the most hideous piece of kitsch you've ever laid eyes upon. In front of auntie, your mother says, "Oh, don't you just LOVE that?" Now, if one were asked that question under oath, would it still be necessary to insult auntie by responding with the absolute truth?

You may think that's a specious example. However, I regard asking someone about their private sex life as analogous to asking them - under oath - whether they pick their nose, or have hemorrhoids, or suffer erectile dysfunction. It's none of anyone else's business, save their family.

Lying under implicit oath (the oath sworn to uphold the Constitution) and causing the death of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of innocent civilians based on those lies is a far more serious breach of ethics and honesty.