Justice and Righteousness

June 30, 2020 (Tuesday)

I recently got around to watching a movie that I recorded last year. The actress’ eyes were huge, like a cartoon character. As a matter of fact she was playing a character who had been (still is, I suppose) a cartoon.

I looked up the movie and found out how they decked her out in special clothing that was imbedded with electronics, so that all the acrobatic moves she made in the movie could be enhanced with computer graphics. After seeing the movie, I found out the facts concerning its filming and the tremendous use of CGI (Computer Graphics Imaging), all of which was integrated so well into the scene that there was no hint that what I was watching really happened the way I saw it on the screen. Parts of it were filmed as live action and much of it was created with computer programs, but if you are like me, you would never know it did not happen just as you saw it happen.

The use of computer programs to identify people whose images are captured by cameras is another advancement that does great good in identifying criminals, but drastically destroys any privacy that the average guy might have.

Computer programs like photoshop can enhance an image or change it to be the spitting image of someone else. The user can manipulate a photograph so that other people are added and the result looks like everyone in the image was present when the photo was taken. Pictures of you can be “doctored” so that I could swear that it is a photograph of you and someone else doing things you should not be doing.

Videos and photographs no longer carry the weight of proof as evidence of a crime. Even experts cannot say for sure that an image has or has not been changed in any way. This poses problems for court cases involving crimes.

Speaking of court cases, you might be called as a witness in a trial, and asked to share your recollection of an event, making sure you get all the details right. But did you know that every day that passes after the event can make a difference in the way your brain sorts the memories?

These sorts of things boggle the mind and cast doubt on the reliability of eye witnesses, especially if the witness is describing something that happened many months or years ago.

The discovery of DNA as a surefire way of identifying a person is bringing to light the facts concerning guilt or innocence of prison inmates convicted on the word of an eyewitness. Many people are being released from prison with our apologies and a big check.

There’s an old saying: “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.” Science is giving new meaning to that old warning.

When Jesus was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin, witnesses were called to testify that they heard Jesus utter blasphemy. Jewish law demanded that three witnesses be called and the three must agree on a number of clearly delineated facts. The rulers wanted Jesus dead so badly that they kept on calling false witnesses until three agreed.

The Old Testament prophets had their hands full in convincing the sinners to whom they preached that what they were doing was unjust and therefore displeasing to God. The prophet Amos was known for his preaching against sin and here is his famous statement of that day: “But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24).

Our justice system depends on our being honest and fair in our testimonies and judgments. One whole commandment of the Ten Commandments demands truth when called as a witness. Once all the dust had settled and the United States of America was established, Ben Franklin said to his colleagues, “Gentlemen, you have a republic..if you can keep it.” We can keep it if we are sure to build on truth, honesty, fairness, and genuine justice for all.