Prepare, then Vote!

Since the Foley scandal broke I’ve read and heard a number of commentators talk about the danger of evangelical Christians staying home on election day. The suggestion is that especially the conservative “family values” voters will be so put off by the Foley scandal and the apparent lack of action by the leadership to deal with it effectively that they will stay home. I don’t know how true this is, but I’ve heard a few supporting comments myself from individuals.

Now there are those who will think I should rejoice. After all, the groups of voters involved will probably vote differently than I do (I’m a mainline, moderate Christian), and thus “my” candidates will have an improved chance if they stay home.

Here’s my view. I think that our republic is impoverished when a category of voters decides to bow out of participation. This doesn’t mean I won’t debate the same group and fight them at every turn. But I believe having all of us there for the debate and having all of us participate in choosing our representatives gives us a stake in the process and helps to prevent a fracturing of society. Serious debate provided by opponents with strong convictions tests ideas. We are seeing less and less debate, because the candidates are presented to us in a canned fashion, the media has bought into the process and presents staged events and quotes and themes of the day, and we as the public have accepted that. But if we also allow scandals, a fear of defeat, or apathy to keep us home from the polls, we are simply asking for more of the same.

The Foley scandal is very bad. I’m glad he resigned and if he can be prosecuted, I hope he will be. In addition, anyone who was involved in covering up in any way should pay for that action. Covering up that sort of activity is unacceptable. But to decide as a result that everyone on that one side of the aisle, or everyone in politics is so depraved we should not even be involved is a serious lapse of judgment on our part, and we the people will pay the price.

I would say to anyone who feels that they should just stay home: Think again! Your moral responsibility stays the same. You still have the opportunity to get out and study the candidates, do the best you can to evaluate, and cast your vote in the best way you know how. You have that one little piece of leverage, that one little piece of power, and if you fail to use it, you’ve abdicated your own moral responsibility.

So I urge not only those who will vote like me, but those who will vote against my choices to get out and vote!

I’m not saying that you or I will make the correct choice. I’m saying that we must make the best choice of which we are capable. We are given that power, and the failure so much of the electorate to take advantage of it is nothing short of scandalous in itself.

What if “both” candidates are unacceptable? Well, there are a few options.

First, the focus on the top of the ticket, presidential candidates or senate and congress, is an error in itself. Important issues for your life are being decided in local elections, often by 20% or 30% of the voters. There will be local and state candidates along with local and state issues. It will be quite rare that anyone has a ballot including only a congressman and a senator. So get educated about your local candidates and issues. On my local ballot in there primary there were school board candidates. Those are extremely important. (My district was decided in the primary, but there are contested races in the county.)

Second, if you still find no candidate that you can stomach, you have the option of minor party and/or write-in candidates. What is the point of voting for a minor party or write-in candidate? Well, there is one major advantage–they aren’t that likely to get elected, and if they do, they’ll be a voice crying in the wilderness. So you can use your vote to nudge the major parties in a direction you’d like them to move. I often vote Libertarian for that very reason. If I have decided that neither major party candidate deserves my vote, and that neither requires a “vote against,” then I feel free to nudge the process in the direction of liberty. But there are conservative and liberal parties involved here as well. So you don’t have to leave those top slots blank while you vote for various candidates for local office.

Third, if you are a responsible person in your daily life–and I’ll assume you are–yet you have been irresponsible in voting by staying home, use the trip to the voting booth as a lesson. As you look through the candidates and say, “Why should I vote for these people?” consider the possibility that you should be a candidate for local office, or that someone you know deserves your active support in the next election. Perhaps you have a friend you believe should be urged to be in the political arena.

It’s a participatory form of government. We participate by choosing representatives. When those representatives fail, we have the task of replacing them. Let’s take up our responsibility!