Voting in Conscience and with Creativity

Many people have been asking me who I will be voting for in next week's historic Presidential Election. In fact, at a wedding I attended recently, one of my friends cornered me at the mac-n-cheese station during the reception cocktail hour to ask me this very question. In between mouthfuls of that decadent appetizer, I tried to explain to my friend that, in my estimation, neither candidate was a suitable choice for President. Yet, despite my aversion to the prospect of a Trump or a Clinton presidency, I still could not decide who I would be voting for on November 8th.

Now, that being said, I must note that I do not fault anybody for voting for either candidate as their well-formed conscience dictates. However, my own conscience has led me to conclude that I cannot vote for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Neither candidate - indeed, neither party - has provided a suitable plan forward for our country that is built upon those virtues and values which cultivate cooperation, compassion, and the common good.

Rather than viewing individual issues in isolation, I believe we ought to see every issue together as forming one coherent vision for America. If we truly want to be a country that is "great again" and "stronger together," then I believe we must be a country that protects the vulnerable (such as the unborn child, the immigrant, the refugee, the poor, the elderly, at-risk minorities), upholds the integrity of every person, pursues peace and limits the use of military intervention, cares for the environment, develops economic policies that actually allow participation at all levels, addresses the causes of violence, racial strife, and inequality, values religious freedom and expression, and promotes authentic human flourishing. 

Again, neither the Trump nor Clinton campaigns have developed policies and proposals that embody this comprehensive vision for our country. In fact, their respective positions actually reject or jeopardize many of these fundamental issues. Furthermore, the candidates have polluted the political conversation in our country in different ways: either with demagoguery and misogyny or with corruption and ethical misconduct. 

For me, the two major party candidates present a real crisis of conscience: who do I vote for when neither candidate is a viable choice?

At first, I thought I would absent myself from voting for President. However, after hearing an inspired homily from a friend who is a priest, I decided that I needed to allow my vote to be cast in faith. Like the mustard seed, this priest implored, so too can God use our votes to bring about unexpected good and growth. Voting, particularly in a volatile election season such as this, is truly an act of faith. When we vote, we trust that God will act, despite the deep and obvious flaws of each candidate. 

A chance phone conversation with another friend helped me to move forward in a new and very unexpected direction. During our talk, I lamented about my conflict of conscience, believing that my only remaining option, besides not voting, was to cast a protest vote. But my friend on the other line of the phone encouraged me to see my vote not simply as a protest, but as a creative response to a failing two-party system. Voting for a third party candidate, my friend encouraged me, would not be a wasted vote. Rather, voting for a third party candidate ought to be seen as a creative act of faith, dictated by conscience, and determined to resist, challenge, and change our current political situation - one step (or vote) at a time. 

And so, I will cast my vote in conscience and with creativity. I will not vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I will not allow myself to be limited to two deeply flawed visions for America. 

On Tuesday, November 8th, I will write-in Michael Maturen of the American Solidarity Party for President. The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a fringe group that was formed in 2011. Its party platform is developed from many principles of Catholic Social Teaching and modeled after the Christian Democratic parties of Europe. Yet, the positions of the ASP are not exclusive to Catholics or other Christians. Any person of good will would likely be able to embrace their stances on life, liberty, peace, cooperation, and equality.  At last, a party and a candidate that I can vote for on Election Day!

Of course, I know Maturen will not win. I know that either Trump or Clinton will be elected President. However, I also know that I must begin to make small steps towards change in how I participate in our country's political system. I cast this vote now as a small act of faith, trusting that one day, our political system will change for the better. The alternative is too devastating to imagine. 

May we soon restore civility, care and compassion, and the common good back into our country's political discourse! And may God act, whatever the outcome of this Presidential Election!