To Vote or Not to Vote

We are approaching another election, and once again we will hear the familiar arguments about candidates, political parties, platforms, policies, and personalities.

But lately I have been thinking about voting differently.

Voting is more than a referendum on a candidate or a political party. Your vote is also a referendum on you.

It says something about what you value. When I step into the voting booth, I am not simply choosing between names on a ballot. I am having a conversation with myself.

What do I value?

Do I value love?

Do I value liberty?

Do I value life?

Do I value my neighbor?

Do I value justice?

Do I value compassion?

Do I value unselfishness?

And when the issues of the day are divisive and painful, I have to ask myself: Where do I stand? When the rhetoric becomes hurtful, do I accept it?

When selfishness is presented as strength, do I embrace it?

When people are demeaned, dismissed, or forgotten, does it bother me?

And when there is an opportunity to encourage, protect, help, heal, or bring people together, do I value that?

Those questions are bigger than political parties. They are questions of the heart.

Your Vote Tells a Story

We sometimes speak about voting as though we are simply evaluating the people running for office. Certainly, character, competence, policies, and leadership matter. But there is another evaluation taking place at the same time.

We are evaluating ourselves.

Every vote requires us to decide what matters enough for us to support.

That does not mean that everyone who shares a particular value must vote for the same candidate or political party. Two thoughtful people can value many of the same things and still reach different political conclusions.

But each of us should be willing to ask why. Why does this issue matter to me?

Why am I willing to overlook this behavior? Why am I unwilling to overlook another?

What am I protecting? What am I promoting? What am I willing to tolerate in order to get something else that I want? Those can be uncomfortable questions. But perhaps they should be.

The People Around Us

I look around my community and sometimes wonder about the people I encounter every day.

My neighbors, Friends, Coworkers. The person standing beside me in the supermarket.

The person pumping gas at the next pump, the family walking through the mall.

We can be friendly with one another. We can laugh together. Work together. Worship together. Live next door to one another. And yet, beneath those everyday interactions, we may hold very different ideas about what matters most.

An election has a way of bringing some of those differences to the surface.

That does not necessarily make one person good and another person bad. But it should remind us that values are not merely things we say we believe. Eventually, our values become choices. And choices have consequences.

Look Beyond the Party Line

So as we approach Election Day, I want to encourage something that has very little to do with telling anyone which party to support. Before looking at the party line, look inward.

Ask yourself: What do I value? Not what does my party value. Not what does my favorite commentator value. Not what does my family traditionally vote. Not what does social media tell me I should be angry about today.

What do I value?

Then ask the harder question: Does my vote reflect those values?

Because ultimately, I have to live with more than the outcome of an election.

I have to live with myself. When I leave the voting booth, I want to know that whatever names I selected, I did so after examining my own heart. I want my vote to say that I value life and human dignity. That I value liberty and responsibility. That I value my neighbor. That I value compassion. That I believe leadership should serve rather than simply seek power. That I believe we are responsible not only for ourselves, but also for the kind of community and country we leave to those who come after us.

So perhaps the question this election season isn't simply: Who are you voting for?

Perhaps there is a question that should come first: Who are you when you vote?

Because your vote doesn't only say something about the candidate.

Your vote tells a story about you!