(With apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

To Whom It May Concern,

• If you can respond with wisdom to the provocation of fools;
• If you, like the ancient, Job, have made a “covenant with your eyes” to avoid lustful longing of things that don’t belong to you;
• If your sons and daughters, friends and neighbors have observed your firmness in turning the channel, closing the magazine, averting your eyes, carefully choosing your movies and music when confronted with temptation;
• If they continue to believe in you when the fickle falter and fail you;
• If you understand there is only One perfect human being who was able to meet the challenge of his accusers with zero evidence of sin;
• If you are able with quietness and confidence allow Him to defend you against the stone throwers;
• If you can resist bombast and bristle as your only defense against the firebrands and deadly arrows of unfounded accusation;
• If your conscience is as clear as the open heavens and you strive to not have any desires that you would be ashamed of before God and his universe;
• If you live as if you truly believed there is nothing hidden that will not be exposed;
• If you know that hypocrisy is the desire to look better than you are, the hiding of things you do because you are not supposed to be doing them;
• If you know that the doing of evil is foul, but fouler still is covering it over so that you won’t be suspected of it;
• If you know Washington is rife with hypocrisy and the question for the American public is are we growing more or less of such hypocrites;
• If you know that the testing of your faith is precious, more precious than volatile gold, because it is the only thing that shows what you are truly made of;
• If you know that a true man of integrity, wisdom and truth is what a troubled America needs in these troubling times, more than we need promises, policies, or poll standing;

If so, then the lovers of Truth, Right and Good will embrace you, applaud your ascendancy and cherish your leadership.  If not then you will fade into the abyss of obscurity along with countless others who failed the test.