How to Vote and Why

May/June 2008 Issue | Posted by Rebecca Teti in Faith&Culture

Media impressions to the contrary, it’s not true that “politics” comes from “poly” meaning “many” and ticks, meaning “parasites.”

You may be tired of the trappings of political campaigns: ubiquitous ads and candidates’ families and personal lives on a dissection table. You may be exasperated by low-quality journalism, which loves to report rumors, gaffes, and polls in lieu of informing us what positions each candidate holds.

All that is indeed tedious, but it isn’t politics, properly speaking.

Aristotle famously called man the “zoon politikon,” or political animal, meaning the human person is made for community. Politics is the art of ordering community life well, and Catholics — called to build a civilization of justice and love — are obliged to take an interest.

Each presidential election season, the bishops of the United States issue guidelines drawn from the Catechism and Church Tradition for Catholic voters. The guidelines aren’t intended to tell us for whom to vote, but to inform our consciences so that we vote well. This year’s version is lengthy, but we can summarize the basic principles here.

Not voting is not an option. Say the bishops: “Responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.” This obligation becomes more critical the more dissatisfied we find ourselves with the candidates and parties involved. Rather than retreating from the public square because we don’t find ourselves perfectly represented, we’re called to speak up, educate our fellow citizens, create or participate in citizens’ groups — or perhaps run for office ourselves. The worse things are in the world, the more Catholics need to engage the culture.

Vote with an upright conscience. We’re called to “follow faithfully what we know to be just and right,” say the bishops, but our judgments will be false if we have no standard outside ourselves and our feelings. Formation of conscience is a life-long project that entails educating our reason, conforming our way of thinking to Church teaching, and seeking God’s will in prayer.

Prioritize the non-negotiable principles. On most political questions there is no single “Catholic” position. Church social teaching requires us to have a “preferential option for the poor,” for example, but whether that is best accomplished through high taxation and government programs or low taxation and charitable incentives is a matter for debate. It’s the role of the laity with their expertise to figure those questions out, and different solutions may better suit different situations.

With intrinsic evils such as abortion and euthanasia, however, there can be no debate.

Since all rights and political questions become moot without the right to life, Catholics are obliged, whether as politicians or as voters, to oppose these moral evils and defend life. The right to life is the ground of all other rights and laws. In a 2006 address to European politicians, Pope Benedict XVI added two additional “non-negotiables”: defense of traditional marriage and the right of parents to educate their children.

Be prudent. The virtue of prudence helps us apply the truths of faith to specific circumstances.

The Church doesn’t expect us to wait for the perfect candidate before we can vote, she expects us to think seriously about the probable effect particular candidates will have on our law and culture and vote in the way that will most advance human dignity — or best limit harm.

Party loyalty or party purity aren’t valid considerations: the actual people being affected by our laws are.

As Pope John Paul II taught, the question to ask is which way the law or policy is tending. For example, could Catholics support a law that permits some abortions? Not in a country where abortion is illegal. If the country has an unlimited abortion license, however, it’s permissible to support such a law, even though it isn’t perfect, because it moves the law in the right direction. We can apply similar reasoning to candidates.

Using faith and reason to choose our next leaders. It’s rather exciting, isn’t it?E

Rebecca Teti has lived her whole life in and around Washington, D.C.

What We’re Watching

Amazing Grace: So good, you won’t notice the marvelous lesson in

political prudence.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: The classic American political tale, about the necessity of good men in politics.

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