I cannot wait for the election to be over! I have long been tired of the political adverts. Part of my frustration, though, comes from the difficulty in voting my conscience. I am absolutely pro-life, meaning I am against abortion (no exceptions), for programmes that support pregnant women and help with after the birth, against the death penalty, against torture, for affordable health care (minus coverage for abortion, contraceptives [which are potentially abortifacient], and IVF), against embryonic stem cell research, etc. Finding a candidate that fits that bill is nigh impossible, it seems.
Even so, many tell me I must vote "the lesser of two evils" and therefore must perpetuate the two-party system. In fact, I was convinced to do just that in the last presidential election, since I live in a swing state; this is a decision I've regretted every day since then. See, my one vote doesn't make a huge difference in a national election, but it does affect me.
This is why, this time, I insist on voting my conscience. I need to vote in a way I can live, both in protest of the system and for my own soul. I'm tired of candidates promising to let us live our faith and then reversing once we get them in office, too.
So what will I do? Well, I am heartened in reading the USCCB's guide "Faithful Citizenship". Paragraph 36 states, "36. When all candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the
conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the
extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation,
may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such
a morally flawed position and more
likely to pursue other authentic
human goods "
I personally don't like or trust either Obama or Romney, and so will not vote for either of them. I know no candidate is perfect, but I don't think Romney's record matches his current promises, and cannot in good conscience vote for him. I will continue looking at third party candidates to see if there is one I can live with. While I am not a single-issue voter, I do hold abortion and embryonic stem cell research at he top, for if we do not protect the most vulnerable among us, little else matters. That being said, I'd love to find someone who also holds the other views I do, but that is unlikely. If I cannot find an acceptable candidate, it is possible I will abstain from voting for president, though I will more likely write someone in instead of doing that, if none of the other candidates is acceptable. I do not see such an action as throwing away my vote, or an implicit vote for either Obama or Romney, but as a vote for that candidate. And yes, it is also a protest of the system, which is in need of changing. Most of all, however I vote must be compatible with my conscience.
Thank you, for spurring my own thoughts (jumbled as they are) and getting them written down.
ReplyDeleteI, too, cannot wait for this election to be over! The incessant calls we receive all week from poll takers are driving me crazy!
ReplyDeleteThis post and the other discussions on Phatmass have me wondering if I should vote for Romney or not. I guess I was under the allurement that if you don't vote Democrat or Republican, your vote is basically wasted. My history teachers used to drill that into my head. Now I'm starting to wonder if I should vote third party. I do not consider myself to be either a Democrat or Republican (even though I am registered as a Republican to vote in the primaries). I hold views from both parties (pro-life, anti-death penalty, pro-gun control, etc). I am an "independent." This is something I really need to pray about and I thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts here. God bless!
This should help your conscience:
ReplyDeleteApril 17 – Obama administration releases the proposed guidelines that implement his decision to allow taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research that involves the destruction of human life.
April 23 – Refused to appeal a ruling requiring the FDA to allow 17-year-old girls to purchase the morning after pill without either a doctor visit or parental involvement beforehand.
April 27 – Obama’s women’s ambassador Melanne Verveer touted Obama’s decision to send $50 million to the United Nation’s Population Fund.
May 5 – Details emerge about a terrorism dictionary the administration of President Barack Obama put together in March. The Domestic Extremism Lexicon calls pro-life advocates violent and claims they employ racist overtones in engaging in criminal actions.
May 8 – President Obama releases a new budget that allows the Legal Services Corporation to use tax dollars to pay for pro-abortion litigation.
May 8 – President Obama’s new budget calls for taxpayer funded abortions in the nation’s capital.
May 8 – President Obama’s budget eliminates all federal funding for abstinence-only education.
May 15 – Appointed pro-abortion New York City health commissioner Thomas Frieden as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
May 17 – During his commencement speech at Notre Dame, Obama deceived listeners into thinking he wants a conscience clause, promoted embryonic stem cell research and misstated his pro-abortion record.
May 26 – Appoints appeals court judge Sonia Sonotmayor as a Supreme Court nominee. Sotomayor agrees that the courts should make policy, such as the Roe v. Wade case. Sotomayor is later opposed by pro-life groups and supported by pro-abortion groups and those who know her say she will support abortion on the high court.
July 2- Calls for an unlimited right to abortion at a United Nation’s meeting.
July 7- The Obama administration admits it ignored the majority of Americans who opposed the proposed guidelines that would implement Obama’s decision to force taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research.
July 14 – Obama science czar nominee John Holdren is revealed to have written before that he favors forced abortions.
July 30 – Awards several pro-abortion activists with the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
July 31 – Tells the National Institutes of Health to adopt rules that allow embryonic stem cell research.
August 4 – Information becomes public that Ezekiel Emanuel, an Obama advisor at the Office of Management and Budget and a member of Federal Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research, supports rationing health care for disabled Americans that could lead to euthanasia.
August 6 – Obama criticized for asking for people to “snitch” on groups and people who oppose the pro-abortion health care bills in Congress.
August 13 – Obama wrongly said a senator backed the pro-euthanasia components of the health care bill.
August 23 – Said pro-life advocates were making “phony claims” about the health care bills. Also said the claims were false.
August 24 – Releases veterans guide promoting euthanasia.
September 13 – Misleads on the federal conscience clause in a health care speech and misleads on abortion funding.
September 13 – Obama waits two days to comment on shooting of pro-life advocate whereas he commented immediately on shooting of abortion practitioner.
September 15 – Senate confirms Obama’s new regulatory czar Cass Sunstein, who is pro-abortion.
October 5 – Selected pro-abortion lawyer and Georgetown University law professor Chai Feldblum for the EEOC.
October 5 – Announces he will give the keynote speech for pro-abortion group Human Rights Campaign
This is only the beginning, I don't want to think where he'll take the Nation if around for 4 more years.
Hope your conscience can handle it.
I was already against Obama, thanks. :-) and I've already voted.
DeleteI should add that I feel Obama's evils don't compel me to then fly into the arms of another evil, for Romney's record is less than stellar on life issues, too.
DeleteHow ever things turn out, our God reigns. May he give us not what we deserve but more of His Son and Holy Spirit.
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