Center for Catholic Education at UD
Voting Is More Than Just an Election
By Joe Twiner
Do not take this post as one of many others on your feed today angrily yelling at you to vote for one party or another. This is not like the numerous others which seeks to place the blame for the world’s many injustices on one other person; this is not like the numerous others which misrepresents the candidates and issues as simple solutions. We live in a world filled with systems, and it is not simply a change to one aspect of society which will fix everything. However this is an opportunity to take a stand for issues which are important to you. To be an active citizen is to have passion and to support people who believe what you believe. In times like today that is not an easy choice: both sides of the aisle support many issues people care about. So I would like to encourage you to reflect on each side and to take action tomorrow by voting.
No matter who is elected there will be injustice. There will still be problems with immigration, racism, pro-life issues, and poverty. No matter who is elected, if we forget that justice starts with ourselves we will never make a meaningful difference. If we assume some elected politician will create a comprehensive plan, then we will be waiting forever. It is our responsibility to take up the task of social change. If we want to be Christian we must follow Christ’s example and create change in a humble way. We must start by loving those immediately around us and creating communities where people are free to act justly. Christ could have come as a king and imposed his rule from above, but he came as a slave (Philippians 2:7). Let us vote in the election, but let us also vote with the way we live our lives.
So I will end by providing a link to a resource put together by some Graduate students at the University of Dayton which discusses both candidates and where they stand on the issues.
http://thecatholicvote.weebly.com/
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Edited by: Lindsey Bronder & Ben Swick