The opinions expressed in Entre Nous are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Austin Bar Association membership or the Austin Bar Association board of directors.
Every culture has its scary legends, usually designed to frighten children into behaving as adults wish—or face horrible consequences. Fear of unnatural and unknowable forces has dominated the human psyche for thousands of years. The mythical “Bogeyman” is a fixture around the world: In Albania, he’s the Gogol; in Serbia, the Bauk; Germany has the Butzemann; and in Russia, the Babyka. In the Spanish-speaking cultures of South America, he is the Saco (the Sack Man who steals children).
Bogeyman has also become a metaphor, of course, for avoiding bad outcomes by not engaging in certain anti-social behaviors. All of us can name something we avoid in our efforts to keep the Bogeyman away, right? Don’t eat rich foods; don’t drive impaired; don’t forget to pay your taxes; and keep your religious rites. Life, through media, literature, and friendship, often introduces us to things that create fear in others. Clearly, we lawyers have our personal Bogeyman: risking disciplinary action and embarrassment for missing a statute of limitations, a filing deadline, or another mistake. And sometimes those fears are on public display.
Take, for example, the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the State of Texas. We have a crystal-clear idea of the Bogeyman who torments his mortal being. It’s having to say the words, “I do solemnly swear to tell the truth … .”