Oct
30
Lessen the Evil
“With Trump, we will get good policies and character flaws, but with Biden we will get bad policies and character flaws.” — Wayne Grudem, author, theologian, and seminary professor
I was originally going to comment on one or both of Wayne Grudem’s recent articles (you can read them here and here), but then I came across three excellent posts on Facebook and have decided to share one each over the next 3 days. This first one actually says much the same as I’ve said during an earlier election season. But, perhaps this post will help someone make the right decision for this election.
Kevin James Bywater writes:
“At this stage of my life, and given the current political climate, my approach to voting is simple. However, there is a mistake that some make: opting for the so-called lesser of two evils. Now, I can appreciate that sort of approach, though this leads some to refuse to vote, since voting for evils, even lesser evils, just seems wrong. However, I think this perspective is muddled and mistaken.
My approach is to vote to lessen evil. Now, this requires identifying evils and candidates whose policies or platforms might impact these issues and lessen the evils.
Another consideration is that the candidates should have some potential of winning. This seldom is the case with third party candidates, though it can happen, especially on local levels. But voting this way, to my mind, has virtually no chance of lessening evil.
So, where does this leave me? It seems fairly clear to my mind. While I can hardly root for the Republican Party, my values and convictions are more aligned with the Republican platform than that of the Democrats. This is so, even if only potentially, in terms of international relations, border security, the strength of the economy (of course the pandemic has changed the rules for now), defending freedom of speech and religion, the composition of the Supreme Court, and the right to life for the unborn.
To my mind, there are no other viable options. I think a vote for Republicans is a vote to lessen evils, at least potentially. A vote for Democrats more than likely increases evils, as I see it. And a vote for a third party seems trivial, distinctly self-congratulatory or, worse, markedly self-righteous, but plays no roll in lessening evil.
This is how I’ve reasoned and where I’ve landed for now. And I just voted, with my daughter. It is where we stand…”
