MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Diplomat sworn-in on a Kindle

Froide · 06-07-2014, 04:09 AM

Ambassador Suzi Levine is not the first American public servant to swear in using an electronic device. Her predecessors include the likes of:
- Several Atlantic City, NJ firefighters, who in 2013 took their oath using a Bible app on an iPad, as AppleInsider reports.
- New York state’s Nassau County Executive Mangano, who was sworn in using an iPad earlier in January 2014, when a printed copy of the Bible couldn’t be found, as Newsday reported.

While some have criticized or ridiculed these choices (e.g., see the comments here), I actually support them. For one thing, having devoted several months to work with the U.S. Census enumeration effort in 2010, during which time I took the same oath Levine did by merely raising my right hand and in similar fashion swore in hundreds of colleagues who reported up the chain to me, I second what posters above me - such as tubemonkey and QuantumIguana - have noted: "Strictly speaking, the diplomat wasn't sworn in on a Kindle, just as others are not sworn in on a stack of paper. As Tubemonkey said, the format is what matters. Well, the format doesn't really matter, as the oath doesn't require you to put your hands on anything."

Secondly, I wholeheartedly appreciate the symbolic but unequivocal messages sent by swearing in on digital devices. Ambassador Levine's choice tells me:
- She's a forward-thinking, open-minded, tech-savvy technophile
- She's aware of trends (e.g., the Kindle is the bestselling American-made ereader, Amazon.com sells more ebooks than any other source, at Amazon ebook sales outnumber pbook sales, and consumer e-book sales (excluding textbooks and professional manuals) are projected to outnumber p-book sales from all sources by 2018, according to research by PwC). Data shows: we're in the digital age, now; may the public and private sectors catch up, bridge the digital divide, and make good use of digital tools and media.
- By positioning the Constitution at the 19th Amendment, she was telling us visually, "We've come a long way, baby!" As CWatkinsNash notes:

She was swearing on the 19th Amendment. The content is something sacred to her, the vessel in which is was contained is likely something symbolic for her. (In fact, the symbolism could be seen as a fairly universal concept, on a more basic level.)

When people swear on a religious book, they aren't swearing on the paper that holds the words, it is the words within that are sacred to them.

Brava, Ambassador Levine!

06-07-2014, 04:09 AM	#26
Froide Wizard Posts: 1,898 Karma: 9851695 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Noo Yawk Device: Samsung Galaxy and Windows devices. RIP: Palm & Nook devices.	Ambassador Suzi Levine is not the first American public servant to swear in using an electronic device. Her predecessors include the likes of: - Several Atlantic City, NJ firefighters, who in 2013 took their oath using a Bible app on an iPad, as AppleInsider reports. - New York state’s Nassau County Executive Mangano, who was sworn in using an iPad earlier in January 2014, when a printed copy of the Bible couldn’t be found, as Newsday reported. While some have criticized or ridiculed these choices (e.g., see the comments here), I actually support them. For one thing, having devoted several months to work with the U.S. Census enumeration effort in 2010, during which time I took the same oath Levine did by merely raising my right hand and in similar fashion swore in hundreds of colleagues who reported up the chain to me, I second what posters above me - such as tubemonkey and QuantumIguana - have noted: "Strictly speaking, the diplomat wasn't sworn in on a Kindle, just as others are not sworn in on a stack of paper. As Tubemonkey said, the format is what matters. Well, the format doesn't really matter, as the oath doesn't require you to put your hands on anything." Secondly, I wholeheartedly appreciate the symbolic but unequivocal messages sent by swearing in on digital devices. Ambassador Levine's choice tells me: - She's a forward-thinking, open-minded, tech-savvy technophile - She's aware of trends (e.g., the Kindle is the bestselling American-made ereader, Amazon.com sells more ebooks than any other source, at Amazon ebook sales outnumber pbook sales, and consumer e-book sales (excluding textbooks and professional manuals) are projected to outnumber p-book sales from all sources by 2018, according to research by PwC). Data shows: we're in the digital age, now; may the public and private sectors catch up, bridge the digital divide, and make good use of digital tools and media. - By positioning the Constitution at the 19th Amendment, she was telling us visually, "We've come a long way, baby!" As CWatkinsNash notes: She was swearing on the 19th Amendment. The content is something sacred to her, the vessel in which is was contained is likely something symbolic for her. (In fact, the symbolism could be seen as a fairly universal concept, on a more basic level.) When people swear on a religious book, they aren't swearing on the paper that holds the words, it is the words within that are sacred to them. Brava, Ambassador Levine! Last edited by Froide; 06-08-2014 at 10:39 PM.