LETTER: Morals belong in elections

Editor,

On Friday a letter was published, complaining that “many voted based on their moral and religious values” in the latest election. There was a plea to respect diverse beliefs, rather than let religious opinion taint election outcomes.

Let me start with the basics. Any laws submitted for a yay or nay arise because they are strong enough concerns in the community that everyone needs to express an opinion. If enough people agree on a particular side of an issue, that is called a majority.

Elections are held to see how the majority of a community feels about the important issues, like who should govern or what laws need to pass. You could say that the purpose of an election is to impose beliefs. If laws pass that go against what I believe to be right, it is my duty to respect the opinion of the majority that approves of the law. Or with my right to protest or petition, I can try to overrule the decision.

Morals define how we act and what we think is right for ourselves and for others. If there were no religions, we would still come to moral conclusions based on logic, philosophy, or other ways.

And how many of us profess to belong to a religion without following the official creeds? People will vote according to personal opinion. If their vote reflects what their religion teaches, it is because they agree enough with whatever religion they belong to. That is an individual choice.

We can not avoid expressing a moral opinion during an election. If we oppose a law influenced by morals, we reveal what our own morals are like. Even if we choose not to vote, we communicate the opinion that others can make the decisions for us, and that what we think does not matter. At any rate, with voter turnouts so consistently low, we ought to be grateful that people have any kind of opinions at all.

Juan-Carlos Mackay