IMPEACHMENT – AN IDIOT’S GUIDE

IMPEACHMENT – AN IDIOT’S GUIDE

Hi! This is Kodo with Kodoan. You can find out more about me at kodoan.com.

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If you keep hearing about Impeachment and were kinda hoping for an “idiots guide” version of what it is – heads up! this might be just what you’re looking for!

When most people today here the word impeachment, they usually think of President Donald John Trump or maybe even former President William Jefferson Clinton – both of whom were impeached; the former, an unprecedented two times. However, the roots of impeachment go way back – like, 3000 years way back. Like, a thousand years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls Papyrus way back.

I’m referring, of course, to an Ostracon – from which we get the word “ostracize”. Now, Ostraca, the plural form of Ostracon are basically old timey post-it notes dating to at least the time of the New Kingdom of Egypt – also known as the Egyptian Empire. That would be somewhere around 1550 B.C. to 1069 B.C.

An Ostracon was something used to scratch notes, receipts, instructions or similar information on. It needed to be cheap, readily available and fairly durable. Common material for Ostraca were things like a bit of repurposed broken pottery (there was a lot of that back then), a bit of flat limestone (there was a lot of that too) and, most notably, flat shells such as oyster shells -from which the word Ostracon is derived.

Right around the same time the world was going “all Lady Gaga” over Howard Carter’s discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, the ancient Egyptian workman’s villa known as Deir el-Medina was being excavated. Deir el-Medina was an ancient Egyptian workman’s village during the Egyptian Empire which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings; the location for the Tomb of Tutankhamun.

The ancient name for the settlement of Deir el-Medina was Set Maat – “the place of Truth” and the workmen who lived and worked there were called “Servants in the Place of Truth”. I’m sure that modern day congressmen would absolutely LOVE it if people started referring to them that way… In any case, as much as five thousand Ostraca were uncovered at Deir el-Medina and detailed mostly mundane everyday events such as work orders, receipts, jobsite instructions, etc.

The far less hardy but much more elegant Papyrus, it would seem, was reserved for far more important writings.

“Ok”, you say, “I got it...Ancient Egypt, Oyster shells, Ostracon are ancient post-it notes – what the hell does that have to do with impeachment?”

Settle down Princess, I’m getting to the good part, then you’ll see how it all ties together.

Towards the end of the Egyptian Empire or just after it - in the old timey days of King David – you know, “David and Goliath”, “King of the Jews” and “father to Wise King Solomon” – That King David, an Ostracon was found that is believed to be the earliest known “vote” on a judgment. It contains the words, King, slave and judge. There is still debate on the artifact but, if the hypothesis holds true, it would be the oldest known use of an Ostracon as a means of passing judgment.

During the seige at Masada in the year 73 A.D, when the Jewish defenders opted for mass suicide instead of capture by the invading Roman pagans, they voted (or “drew lots”) to determine who would kill their compatriots before falling on their own swords. Excavations at Masada revealed Ostraca with names on them leading scholars to believe that Ostraca were used during this “vote”.

The importance of Ostraca was also visible during the time of Ancient Athens, most notably the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries B.C., where they were used in voting for the banishment of unpopular citizens and officials. Banishment was usually for a period of ten years.

Ancient Athens had its own version of a congress (called a Boule’) and a senate (called the Areopagus – which means the “hill of Aries” and referred to the low hill Northwest of the Acropolis).

Unfortunately, Ancient Athens was plagued with corruption and there was usually a giant, corrupt, cluster screw in the middle of everything. Things didn’t always go according to plan nor was justice fairly meted out. I guess times change but people don’t. The monkey-bonk continues...

In any case, they believed that they were truly enlightened as the only other viable alternative they had to banishment (“Ostracism”) was execution; usually in the form of an assassination.

In England, Impeachment was first used in 1376 against William 4th Baron Latimer and the last time they used it was in 1806 against Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. Apparently, the UK has quite moved on from “banishing” unpopular officials in favour of other means of coercion.

The mechanism for impeachment in the UK is that the “house of commons” draws up articles of impeachment (which is a fancy way of accusing someone of something that they don’t like) and the house of lords “hears” the case (and decides the fate of the accused). If impeached (meaning accused of “something” – not necessarily a crime) and then convicted, the punishment can be quite severe – including steep fines, imprisonment or even a death sentence. Which is exactly what befell the Earl of Stratford, Lord deputy of Ireland, around 1639. His award for winning England’s unpopularity contest was the end of a gallows’ rope.

In England, impeachment was broad in scope – applicable to anyone – not just those that held office but was primarily designed to circumvent individuals who abused power derived from holding close ties or favour with royalty.

Impeachment as a part of the United States Constitution was first suggested by Benjamin Franklin during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He noted that the traditional way of removing heads of state was by removing the head of the head of the state. In other words, execution or assassination. Franklin suggested the impeachment process as a preferable method to the barbarism of political violence.

Similar to the original intent of British impeachment, the First Congress saw impeachment as a way to remove a bad officer that was sheltered by the power of the Presidency but their focus was primarily on a president who might get out of control. Never-the-less, the impeachment clause specifies any civil officer of the Executive branch as well as judges but it excludes military officers.

The Impeachment clause can be found in the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 4 where it states that the President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

The First Congress used the word “other” to connect Treason and Bribery to other miscellaneous misdeeds. The intent was, “it better be something serious”….not just “whatever you don’t like about the President is reason enough for impeachment”. However, like Ancient Athens, it is devolving into an unpopularity contest resulting in banishment. The monkey bonk continues...

Impeachment is not the removal of an elected official from office. It is the first step in a two-step process that can end up in the removal of an official from office.

The mechanism for impeachment in the United States is quite similar to that of the United Kingdom in that it must be initiated in the house of representatives (our version of the “house of commons”) with the passage of a resolution listing the charges or “articles of impeachment” against the official being impeached.

If passed by the house of representatives, the article or articles of impeachment are then considered by the Senate (our version of the “house of lords”) in a trial.

If the impeachment is of the President or Vice-President, then the Chief Justice of the supreme court must preside over the trial with 100 senators serving as the jury.

A “supermajority” two thirds vote of the senate is required for a conviction necessary to remove the person from office. Punishment is limited to removal from office and possibly also disqualification from holding public office in the future.

The United States legislative branch is very far removed, indeed, from the ancient settlement of Set Maat (the “place of truth”) and most people would laugh if you called congress “servants in the place of Truth”. However, there is a continuation from the first known use of an Ostracon as a method of voting on banishment to impeachment; our modern interpretation of banishment.

While impeachment in the United States was supposed to be a way to reign in unruly government officials without resorting to violence, it would appear that it is going back to the days of Ancient Athens, and the banishment of the unpopular – albeit with more modern versions of Ostraca.

In any case, I hope this “Idiot’s Guide to Impeachment” Helps you in some way.

My advice to you will always be three fold:

1. Gather information
2. Think Critically
3. Make connections

It has been said that the meaning of life is to learn and then to share.

In classical martial arts, the old Masters would say, “no matter where you start, strive to always get better”.

Remember…..no matter where you are in life – “Always...get better!”

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