Sunday, March 20, 2016

When the wicked rule the people mourn

I've spent more time pondering the current Presidential elections than is probably healthy, reading most anything about the candidates that comes my way. I was disturbed a few weeks ago, that when my son asked me for positive reasons why I had voted in Texas' primary for Rubio, I had far less to say in his favor than I had to say about two candidates in particular who would never under any circumstances receive my vote. Shortly thereafter at Institute, a student reminded us that it is not enough to point out error, but to point towards light and truth. In recognition that my Facebook feed and thoughts dwelt far too much on the negative, I decided to back off on political posts for a while to try to recenter my thoughts.

Last week I found the answer I was looking for. It might not be everyone's answer, but it is mine: IT'S TIME FOR A SPREADSHEET! The methodology is simple: Who are the candidates and what does each stand for? Score them 0-10 (or higher or lower depending on the weight you want to put on one issue or another) and add up your totals. The highest number is the candidate you should support.

For my spreadsheet, I turn to Doctrine and Covenants 98:9-10: "When the wicked rule the people mourn. Wherefore, honest men [and women] and wise men [and women] should be sought for diligently, and good men [and women] and wise men [and women] ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil."

For my primary vote, I focused less on the wise part - did they agree with my stances on particular issues, or at the least could I see wisdom in their choices and arguments even if they come to different conclusions - and mostly on whether I thought this was a good human being. If they aren't, I don't care how much they agree with me on everything else, I won't support them. This is why I voted for Rubio in my primary election and why at this stage I will find anything nice to say about Sanders that I can even knowing on economic and foreign policies I'm likely to agree with his opponent more than him.


    This post includes only my rankings on the honest and good parts. I measured it on nine dimensions: