Six Values to Pick A President

We have to talk to each other about politics. Our goal need not be to convince but to converse. So here I go. I want to articulate some of  the values that guide my choices. If I were hiring a president or congressperson or other public official, what would I look for?

Some people are single-issue voters: the hot button makes the decision easy. This may be a specific issue or perhaps a religious or party affiliation. Some insist the candidate subscribe to an overarching philosophy. This is myopic and simplistic. It avoids difficult decision-making.

So how do I make my choice? Here are six values that guide my decisions:

1. Some call it waffling or inconsistency, I call it learning. Our political system is one built on consensus and compromise. I want representatives to be people who can listen and change, give and take. I worry about politicians who make it clear that it is their way or no way at all. That locks us down. It is arrogant; I am suspicious of people who are certain they own the truth with a capital T! I want candidates who believe there is a possibility they are wrong – and then admit it and change!

2. I look for professionalism and intelligence. I want a representative (or doctor or accountant or any other person who “works for me”) to be bright, articulate, and experienced. The idea that we should get rid of professional politicians confuses me. Unless we overhaul the entire system, that would only put our “newbie” at a disadvantage. I don’t want the person speaking for me to be clueless  – or a tool of the more experienced.  

3. I want a candidate who believes we are each other’s keepers. The strong should not be able to do whatever they want to the weak. It is our individual and communal responsibility to cultivate a just and fair society for all people, no matter what their demographics. I oppose the gang, bully, and mob. The majority should not have the ability to wipe out the rights of any minority.

4. I want a modern candidate. There is no turning back the clock. Time moves in one direction only and to wish it would stop or reverse is fantasy. I don’t want candidates who idealize the past. Evolution is just as much a theory as gravity. Any candidate who rejects this is living in the past.

5. My candidate needs to be more creative than combative. It is not enough to say that a policy or law is bad. I want someone who is actively and creatively exploring how to improve it. I don’t want someone who primarily says, “no.” Politicians must have constructive and realistic proposals.

6. It is not about taxes for me. While there may be a short dip down, in the long run, taxes only go one way: up. We have to pay for what we get. We may feel we are being overcharged or would like something that isn’t on the menu (or worry others are getting a better deal) but the money we pay in taxes is necessary. I am skeptical of candidates who promise to reduce my tax burden. To huff and puff about spending is to blow smoke at the real issues. It isn’t the taxes, it is what we do with them. I want candidates who talk about how to spend money rather than making promises about how they will reduce taxes.

Does this make clear for whom I am voting? Perhaps. Yet this is only a piece of my process. But it is a beginning to the dialogue. Let’s talk. 

Let's Talk Politics

It is uncomfortable to discuss the Presidential election with some of my friends. It is a sore subject. On Facebook, there is both serious and lighthearted commentary about political postings. It used to be that money, sex, and religion were the topics that polite people avoided. Now there is a fourth and it is not a good thing.

Party politics has come to resemble religion. Although I would never consider myself a person of “faith,” I am highly religious. But I do not see any politician as a god figure or any party as a church. These are human beings and human created institutions that, as far as I know, have not received the seal of approval from any deity. Yet our political discourse sounds like battling missionaries!

Why do I feel uncomfortable and awkward when the election is mentioned in certain company? Why do people sometimes preface their statements with, “Well, I’m sure you’ll disagree but…” when caution is thrown to the political wind and we briefly and painfully open the subject, only to be reminded by our spouses and friends that “we agreed not to talk about this!”

Why can’t we talk politics? Why is it friendship ending? Why do blood pressures and voices end up raised beyond a healthy level? What is going on here? I wrote last year about my concern that dialogue was dying in our government. Now I am concerned that it is dying around dinner tables and water coolers.

And the old excuse of, “You’re not going to change anyone’s mind anyway” is the fashionable rationalization. Instead of “ conversion,”  could we engage in a conversation that both brings us together and gives us greater understanding? It could be a positive process.

Let’s talk politics. Let’s talk about important issues that affect our families, communities, and nation! Let’s listen to each other. I am suggesting discussion and exploration not debate!

I don’t know everything. I don’t read all the news or follow all the fact checkers and pundits. I pick and choose. Bias from news sources is inevitable. I don’t believe anyone who says that, “the choice is obvious” because if that were true, I could talk about this issue with everyone and we’d all hug and smile. The issues aren’t simple, easy, or clear. And they certainly aren’t black and white. Oversimplifications do not foster good decisions and may be an unethical attempt at persuasion.

And we must have an ethical discussion: one in which we look at issues as fairly and factually as possible.  Can we do it with a computer nearby so we can look things up as we go along? Can we evaluate the information sources together?

It won’t be easy and it won’t be fast. Could that be the real reason we won’t talk? Is it we don’t want to take the time and energy such dialogue will require? We know we’re right and those idiots are wrong, so why waste the effort? Another rationalization that only keeps us apart and in the dark.

The more we refuse to talk to our friends, neighbors, and even family about these areas of disagreement, the wider the chasm grows and the more license we give politicians to do the same. I want progress in Washington! I want members of both parties to talk to each other and create solutions together! I don’t want a one party system! I don’t want a bully system that stomps out its opposition. Minority voices, be they the minority party, minority viewpoints, or minority groups are critical to