Voting for Less Evil (Breakpoint Commentary by Charles Colson)

www.breakpoint.org ^ | November 4, 2002 | Charles Colson (and Breakpoint Staff)

[VOA]

Voting for Less Evil

BreakPoint with Charles Colson

November 4, 2002

Why Vote for the Imperfect?


What would it take to get you to the polls tomorrow?
Will you get out and vote or stay home waiting for the perfect candidate?

I’m asking because I’ve just been reviewing a survey of voting by Christians in the 2000 election. And, even
though I’ve seen the results before, I’m appalled at the apparent apathy by the very citizens who ought to be the most morally concerned citizens in our country.

Among those identifying themselves as Christians, only 50 percent were registered to vote in 2000. Worse, only half of those Christians
who were registered actually went to the polls. That means only one Christian in four voted!

Meanwhile, some races were won by margins of only ninety votes. The voters in one congregation could have made the difference.

So why don’t Christians vote? Father Frank Pavone, co-founder of Priests for Life, answers that some religious leaders are telling people
not to vote! He explains, "Some Christians feel it is more righteous not to vote when the slate of candidates isn’t that great. They feel
compromised, dirty, or even sinful by casting a ballot for someone with whom they disagree."

But how long will you have to wait to find a candidate whose position is identical to yours on every issue?
By that standard, would you even be able to vote for your spouse?

Pavone continues, "When you are faced with two candidates, neither of whom is perfect . . . but one of whom is clearly closer in his or her
convictions to the gospel than any other, it is perfectly legitimate to vote for the better one." Government is God’s ordained
instrument for restraining evil and sin. If one would do a better job, we’re bound to vote for that person.

But isn’t that a vote for "the lesser of two evils"? No. Pavone replies, "One is choosing a good— [that is] the reduction . . . of an existing evil."
What some would call a vote for "the lesser of two evils" is really a vote to lessen evil.

One of the most clear-cut examples is abortion. In numerous races, one candidate wants to maintain unrestricted access to abortion while
the other is pro-abortion, but wants some restrictions. I prefer, of course, a pro-lifer with no reservations. But a vote for the candidate
advocating restrictions is a vote for less evil.

Yet if there is no candidate who promises to eliminate all abortions immediately—a position not likely to pass in Congress anyhow—some
voters stay home on Election Day. The result? A candidate who could have moved the issue in the right direction loses by default, and the
out-and-out pro-choicer wins—not good.

Father Pavone calls the vote "a practical exercise in leadership, by which we do our part to put people into office who can make some
improvement in our country’s policies . . . . Nobody is morally bound to what is impossible, and it is perfectly legitimate to recognize the
limits of what is possible."

No candidate is perfect. Even if the vote in some states seems to be for the lesser of two evils, cast your vote to bring about less evil. Our
concern should be to make our community and our nation more moral than it is. And we do that by electing candidates who, as God’s
magistrates, reduce evil.

A vote that helps reduce evil may not be perfect, but it is a good vote.

[VOA]

I know this commentary will probably rub some Freepers the wrong way.
After all, it's a comment from a convicted felon.
And it's basically a "don't throw your vote away plea".

But I thought that I should post it, considering that this is the eve of an important election.

And to be fair, all "bolding" and "underlining" has been done by VOA.

[VOA]

Ping...just in case this might help sway a friend...

[Cicero]

It's pretty much what I've been trying to tell freepers who refuse to vote for Tim Hutchinson because he got a divorce. Yet they must know that his opponent is far, far worse.

If you can find a better candidate and get him on the ballot, good for you. If not, vote for the best of the ones that are available.

There are sins of commission and sins of omission. Not to vote when you can make a difference is a sin of omission.

Two of the people I respect most, Chuck Colson and Fr. Frank Pavone, agree on this one.

[MoralSense]

There are sins of commission and sins of omission. Not to vote when you can make a difference is a sin of omission.

As sharp as your namesake, C.

[VOA]

It's pretty much what I've been trying to tell freepers who refuse to vote for Tim Hutchinson
because he got a divorce. Yet they must know that his opponent is far, far worse.

This is just about as vengeful as I'll ever get in the issue of politics...
but as an "Okie" of about 30 years (before I relocated for a job to Los Angeles),
if I meet somebody from Arkansas, I will be tempted to asked them who they voted for
(and if they voted) in the Pryor-Hutchinson race.

If they say they voted for Pryor, I'll say...good job...and in that commercial where
Pryor is wearing the camo shirt and at the back of a pick-up...
was he off to hunt with all his NRA buddies...
or going after terrorists at Kandahar...
(or both)?

If they say they stayed home and didn't vote due to Hutchinson's faux pas,
I'll just say...at least you are consistent.
Y'all dumped your untreated sewage into the Illinois River so it would float downstream
into Oklahoma, y'all gave us eight years of Bill Clinton and y'all can just go to....

OK, I won't be quite that mean...

[VOA]

Oh, I don't think I actually said thank you...and bump!

[VOA]

shameless election-eve commentary bump!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Good catch!

I'll ping my list.

Memories:

California Power Crisis animations featuring Governor Gray Davis

AND......................

...to see what Davis has done... - CLICK HERE

and see how France has superseded California under Gray Davis' leadership.

 

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

In California Davis and his cronies are gloating already, they believe their money has bought their continued tenure to continue the corruption and extortion .

Gary South (DAVIS CAMPAIGN GUY) pops off in SF Paper about BUYING the election!

[VOA]

Ernest_at_the_Beach,
thanks very much for the ping-assist.

I don't catch Colson's Breakpoint commentaries as often as I like, but managed to
get this one this morning.

Colson and his Breakpoint commentary staff do have a way of hitting the nail on the head...

[NormsRevenge]

BUMP

[VOA]

In California Davis and his cronies are gloating already, they believe their
money has bought their continued tenure to continue the corruption and extortion .

During the next four years, as The Gray One and his One Party Rule contingent
raise taxes, fees, etc. to stave off financial disaster...many folks should be wearing
shirts that say...

"If You Voted For Davis,
Don't Bother Whining!"

[MissAmericanPie]

Maybe they are not voting because the distinctions between the two evils are becoming ever less. I'm voting Republican tomorrow, because I want to see what will happen with a Republican President, house and senate. I'm expecting alot out of them if that is the case.

And another reason is my desire to have the right situation in place for Tancredo when he landslides to the presidency in 2004 on a write in campaign.

[Ol' Sparky]

So, if Stalin and Hitler were running for office and Stalin was less evil, one should vote for Stalin?

Colson's mentality really worked well with Christie Todd Whitman in New Jersey, didn't it?

It's no wonder our side keeps losing when people like Chuck Colson support this level of compromise.

[ladyinred]

Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone. I dare not even pick up a stone, much less throw it.


VOTE!

[ladyinred]

Please, everyone remember that if, and I do mean if, Davis is reelected tomorrow, it might not be because more real eligible votes cast the vote for him. We do have a tremendous problem with democrats election fraud. The Pubbies know it, do all we are able to prevent it, but it happens in massive amounts.

[VOA]

And another reason is my desire to have the right situation in place for Tancredo
when he landslides to the presidency in 2004 on a write in campaign.

MissAmericanPie,
while we might not agree on all things...Tancredo is a warrior.
My fear is that he'd be gunned down by Mexican drug lords before he could be sworn into office...

and thank you for checking in on the thread...it's good to stir the pot here on election eve...

[VOA]

It's no wonder our side keeps losing when people like Chuck Colson support this level of compromise.

As distastful as the prospect of voting for one of the "two major party" candidates
may be, I think that Colson's ultimate message would be...don't sit at home
as MANY self-identified Christians apparently are doing on election day(s).

I can't speak for Colson, but I'd encourage someone to at least go to the polls and
vote for anyone other than the two major party candidates if they wish.
Or even write in their favorite public figure if they advocate a position you agree
with (and the two major party candidates are at odds with).

If all the folks who stayed at home suddenly appeared at the polls and did something along
these lines...there might be some shockwaves.
That is why I am personally in favor of at least a "none of the above" line
for each office on the ballot.

[Skooz]

But how long will you have to wait to find a candidate whose position is identical to yours on every issue? By that standard, would you even be able to vote for your spouse?

Irrefutable logic bump.

Gotta love Colson.

[VOA]

Irrefutable logic bump.

Well, I generally agree with Colson on this topic.
At the same time, I do respect those who feel otherwise.
But I think some readers are missing one point...the number of people that sit at
home on election day, thinking it somehow fits Christian theology.

While Colson is arguably trying to drive folks to vote for the least repulsive of two
choices, I can respect someone who at least shows up at the polls and votes for a
third choice or a write-in.

If all the folks who stayed at home did this...it would be hard to ignore.
It's kind of along the lines of Einstein's comment that if only a few percentage of
draft-eligible males refused to show up for induction, the jails/prisons of most
countries would soon be overwhelmed...and might cause the government to think about
how much support they have.
(I'm not advocating such action...just mentioning the illustration of what
mass action might accomplish.)