Chief Justice Anton Sculia reminds me of Pontius Pilot asking, "What is truth?" while presiding over the trial of Jesus Christ. Like a basketball referee stating, "It ain’t nothing till I call it," both men apparently agreed that the truth is a tool to be manipulated for the sake of desired ends. At least, that’s the take of many following the post election punts. His quote was as follows: "Since it appears likely that George Bush will win the presidency, continuing the vote recount may cast a pall of illegitimacy on the presidency. The public must be protected from information which could destroy their faith in our governmental institutions" or something to that effect.

Note how his comment was prefaced, "seems likely Bush will win." How could he have determined that in light of the semi-obvious fact that a recount would likely have given the necessary votes to Gore? My bet is that Florida's electors were going to Bush no matter what the ultimate vote count. So, just what is the truth here?

The ultimate truth is that, except in rare instances, the president is not really chosen by the people. Indeed, it was never intended to be so. The ultimate power in this land has always resided in those backing the presidential candidates. Originally, there was no popular vote what-so-ever for that office. The legislators selected certain "trusted individuals" to make the choice. That’s why we still seem to have such an outmoded system. Other than the "bread and circuses" of third party candidates lacking any chance of victory, choice is between two talking heads either of which are programmed to fulfill the ultimate hidden agenda. That’s why our elections seem to be less and less of a choice.

There is a failsafe built into this operation, however. Should the "will of the people" get out of hand, the electors are generally not bound to follow along. They could be easily coerced into making a "more acceptable choice." Indeed, since the final responsibility seems to reside in the various legislatures, an "unacceptable slate" of electors could be replaced by one voted upon after the fact. We just saw that operation in action. I would not be surprised to see such a situation dramatized by our silver screen gladiators in the near future.

The best laid plans of men and mice tend to go astray, however. The two candidates became so similar in substance that vote grid lock developed, attracting a public attention span usually so easily deflected. Suddenly a patchwork quilt of deception, incompetence, and fraud began to unravel before our eyes. In just another moment, I expected some scruffy little dog to pull back a curtain revealing the Wizard of Odds at his machinations. So, the highest court of our land was instructed to "fix" things before the public became overly illuminated. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. A vote is not a vote unless we decide it is and we aren’t deciding anything except ‘no decision is possible or necessary."

Ah, but it really was too late. Now, we know! Even those who live in denial, suspect Bush didn’t really win. We know that other powers wanted Gore to lose; but, the funny thing is, we don’t really know why. Was it to get the damn lib’rals out or to ensure they’ll have a stronger slate elected next time around? Was this about Conservative short sightedness, or Liberal farsighted planning? Now, there’s something to worry about. Just what is Truth in this situation?

As far as I can tell, who’s elected shouldn’t really matter to Christians. There’s a deeper truth at work here. Because of how the Supreme Court exacerbated what occurred in this election, we are no longer deceived by the false robes of righteous judgement. Whatever happens in the near future will be judged by the jaundiced eyes of cynicism. And, next election Jeb Bush might as well not run, what with that huge target painted on him by an angry electorate. This will involve more than the replacement of an outdated voting apparatus.

The religious establishment might well consider what could happen to them, as well. Today, advanced scholarship is calling into doubt many previously held notions regarding authorship of the various Biblical texts. Even the words and actions attributed to Jesus are being judged. Long held concepts of sexual orientation are being challenged by research which has exposed the "rails" of genetic predisposition. Can the musty religious hierarchy, which once tried to suppress at pain of inquisition the very orbit of our planet around the Sun, maintain its credibility? When Justice Sculia opined that the recount must be halted because the American public would be unable to deal with knowing the truth, he was like a religious leader stating the congregation must be protected from alternative viewpoints.

Today’s savvy public can no longer be treated like ignorant serfs. It takes more than the Innocent declaration of God’s will to lead us into ill conceived crucades. I once watched as a friend, who had believed in sharing all truth, went to the other extreme after gaining a degree in theology. As minister in Herbert W. Armstrong’s World Wide Church of God, he had already attended Ambassador College where he received full indoctrination in that church’s theology. He served for decades as an effective minister until the sect went through its remarkable epiphany, after which he decided earning a fully accredited degree might be advisable.

What he has since learned about the deeper issues of Christianity has left him with the haunted look of one who has witnessed a murder by someone he dare not betray. He has learned things all ministers resist sharing with their congregations regarding church history and the documentation upon which our faith has been built. His response has been very much like that of Justice Sculia: I cannot share such information. Many might not be able to handle it without weakening their faith. However, for some strange reason, those issues have not weakened my faith; but, rather, dealing with such has strengthened it.

When Jesus proclaimed we must receive Him as little children, did that mean we should be treated as such? Did not Paul teach that we must grow from the milk of the Word to strong meat. Is it the responsibility of our leaders to censure what life has to express to us? Or is it, rather, their job to properly configure life’s downloads into meaningful applications on the nature of God and the meaning of life? With this in mind, the decision of the Supreme Court should have been a no brainer.

We all teach rules to our children. When we hear "that’s not fair," we laugh and tell them that life isn’t fair. Nobody gets an equal deal. Some have an easy road while others fall by the wayside. Some have genetic ethnic rails from which they are unable to deviate, while others are so blind to reality that they think we all deserve what we get – that God plays favorites. The justices were stymied by the unequal standards involved in the recount; but Justice O’Connor bounced off the answer when she commented, "Well, for heavens sake. Why can’t anyone read the instructions? It seems clear enough."

Yes, it was clear enough. However, few of us took the time to read the instructions which advised us to turn the ballot over, make sure all the holes were cleanly punched through, and no Klingons were chadding. Did you? I didn’t. I figured I knew what I was doing; and, anyway, it really didn’t much matter who I voted for. But, it did, didn’t it? My Hispanic worker, Bob, who had never voted before, wasn’t so self-righteous in his behavior. He read and followed the directions and cleaned his ballot off. He assumed he might not know all the truth of the process, so he studied to be secure in his actions – much as we should do with regard to our calling.

Although, the leaders of our country failed to do other than dodge the issue, our spiritual leader has been concise in his judgements. Jesus instructed His disciples to go out into the world teaching all things whatsoever He had commanded them. He further stated, "by this shall all know that you are my disciples: If you have love one for another." He has, also, taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves and expressed that that neighbor is whomever we neither understand nor care to accept. What else has he commanded? And, how are we fulfill that love we are to express? It’s time to read the instructions and examine, carefully, whether we are in the faith or not. Otherwise, by the standards set forth in the instructions, we may find our ballot failed to qualify as a vote.

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