"It would seem, therefore, that this constitutional safeguard may no longer serve its original purpose, especially when, as we learned last year, some acts of perjury may now be acceptable - in this world, at least, if not the next"
About this Quote
Buckley’s sentence is a lawyerly sigh disguised as a raised eyebrow. He starts with the bureaucratic cushion of “It would seem, therefore,” as if he’s merely following logic to its inevitable conclusion, not aiming a spear. Then he drives it in: a “constitutional safeguard” that “may no longer serve its original purpose.” The subtext is that our civic machinery is still intact on paper, but hollowed out by the way power now behaves in public.
The real sting lands in the parenthetical moral split: “in this world, at least, if not the next.” Buckley isn’t only complaining about perjury; he’s mocking the modern ability to treat sworn statements as optional when the political cost is low and the tribal payoff is high. That little hinge between worlds is doing heavy work. It smuggles in a judgment that the current order has redefined “acceptable” away from truth and toward usefulness, while also implying there remains an older, sterner court of appeal - history, conscience, God - take your pick.
Contextually, Buckley is writing as a politician steeped in institutional reverence, watching the incentives around testimony and accountability warp. The phrase “as we learned last year” points to a recent scandal or highly visible hearing: not an abstract worry, but a public lesson in how norms erode. The line functions as conservative lament and prosecutorial aside at once: if perjury can be rhetorically laundered, then the safeguard isn’t safeguarded. The joke is dark because it’s not really a joke; it’s an epitaph for consequences.
The real sting lands in the parenthetical moral split: “in this world, at least, if not the next.” Buckley isn’t only complaining about perjury; he’s mocking the modern ability to treat sworn statements as optional when the political cost is low and the tribal payoff is high. That little hinge between worlds is doing heavy work. It smuggles in a judgment that the current order has redefined “acceptable” away from truth and toward usefulness, while also implying there remains an older, sterner court of appeal - history, conscience, God - take your pick.
Contextually, Buckley is writing as a politician steeped in institutional reverence, watching the incentives around testimony and accountability warp. The phrase “as we learned last year” points to a recent scandal or highly visible hearing: not an abstract worry, but a public lesson in how norms erode. The line functions as conservative lament and prosecutorial aside at once: if perjury can be rhetorically laundered, then the safeguard isn’t safeguarded. The joke is dark because it’s not really a joke; it’s an epitaph for consequences.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
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