What if our country invited its citizens to an election of national leaders and nobody participated? I have been wondering about that possibility lately as I hear more and more people mention that ‘I might sit out this election. There is no candidate I want to vote for.’ Certainly there are many citizens genuinely committed to casting their votes for Trump or Clinton or Johnson or Stein, but there is a significant portion of the electorate looking back nostalgically to the days of college board exams when one of the options was ‘none of the above.’ If a significant number of citizens choose this option, however, it is not only a danger to our future as a nation, but also a repudiation of our moral responsibility. We cannot put aside too readily our right and responsibility to shape the future course of our nation by electing our national leaders; a right ensured by the sacrifice of so many who have gone before us. As Jean-Paul Sarte proposed so succinctly ‘Not to decide is to decide!’
We may not have a perfect candidate in this election. I can’t remember any time, however, that I voted with the confidence that I was voting for the perfect candidate. I have always voted with the hope that I am voting for the best option among those offered. Certainly, there are many people who wish the options were different during this election cycle, but these are the options that our democratic system has offered us. Maybe we need to tweak the system that produces such options. Maybe we need to support candidates in the future who will offer us better options. The reality right now, however, is that we will likely elect our next president and vice-president from the names set before us right now. Our nation obviously needs executive leadership for the next four years and it is our responsibility under the Constitution to freely elect that leadership. We most likely will not find among the candidates a choice that meets all of our expectations, but we do have a moral responsibility to make the best determination we can for the sake of our nation and the world.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, was asked by a reporter last week “How would you counsel the faithful in America and what wisdom would you have them keep in mind next month when the election occurs?’ Sagaciously, Pope Francis responded, ‘In electoral cam-paigns, I never say a word. The people are sovereign. I just say: Study the proposals well, pray and choose in conscience.’ It is within the same spirit that the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States provided a a helpful document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. It does not attempt to point out to which candidates de¬serve our vote as Roman Catholics, but offers guidelines on the ways in which our decisions, rooted in reason, can be guided and informed by the truths of faith as we step into the voting booth with well- formed consciences. It is our responsibility to seek accurate information on the issues and then seek God’s guidance in acting in accord with the dictates of truth, justice and prudence. We live in a nation that determined from the very beginning that no established religion should dictate public policy, but when we vote we do so as both Americans citizens and Roman Catholic believers. The teachings of our faith should inform our consciences as we cast our votes. Values such as the sanctity of human life, as well as justice and peace issues inherent in our Roman Catholic social teaching, should be an essential component in our preparation for voting. It is generally accepted that no candidate will reflect all that we personally hold to be true as American citizens and people of faith, but we must do the best we can to choose the leaders who can come closest to leading our nation in the direction it should go as it moves ahead in perilous times. It might be helpful for each of us to download and review the document provided by the United States bishops as we continue to reflect upon the positions and proposals of the candidates and finalize our decisions.