Decisions

So here we are at the end of October, making decisions about how to cast our ballots for president on November 4th. We hope these decisions have everything to do with considering what we value, comparing it to what we think might be delivered, using good judgment about aligning our interests with our candidates.

In some ways, it's an exercise in faith. We have no idea what the candidates will really do when they get elected. Sometimes we hope they will do something a little different than what they have promised. For me, I'm hoping that "clean coal" turns out to be something we can live without, and that promises in that department need not be kept. Sometimes, once they are elected, they just change their minds about what they can or want to do, and there we all are.

So we look deeper. There's that surface level where we can calculate whose health care plan or tax plan looks like a better deal for us, and even which one looks like a better deal in terms of the kind of country we'd like to live in. Who is this person? And who are the people around him? What are the indicators of the qualities of character we look for? Yes, it's about character, but not in the sloganeered way we have known in past campaigns.

Unitarians used to believe that good character itself brought a kind of salvation, and indeed, we spend a lot of energy in our congregations considering how to be good people, people of good character. Our seven principles are guides to character as well as being guides to action in the world. So I suggest as a handy guide to the character of our next president a quick check of our own seven principles:

Does he respect the worth and dignity of every person?
Does he model justice, equity, and compassion in human relations?
Does he accept others and encourage them -- if not to spiritual growth, then to finding their own way to a good life?
Does he pursue a free and responsible search for truth and meaning?
Is his way of working with others a model of democratic process?
Does he reach out in meaningful ways toward a world of peace, liberty, and justice for all?
And by his actions does he show respect for the interdependence of all life on our Planet?

If he passes the UU Principles Character Test in addition to promising policies and actions you approve, I say, the choice will be clear. If your deep intuition still tells you something else, I say, examine the sources of your deep intuition. This year's election is not just about getting on with our same way of being a country. It's about finding another way. Character can help us find the leader for that vitally important task.