Election time musings

Soon, most of us will be heading to the polling stations to choose our representatives. Pity that some of us won’t. These haven’t understood that not voting is voting for their worst-case scenario.

We are incredibly fortunate to live in a system where we govern ourselves through representatives rather than under the thumb of a dictator or a king. However, this freedom places the full burden of our government’s quality squarely on our shoulders. 

The way we choose reveals who we are and what our values are. George Bernard Shaw famously suggested that democracy assures us that we won’t have a better government than we actually deserve.

The democratic system is excellent and by far better than any alternative but it is not without its flaws.

Its basic principle is that quantity equals quality. Rightly so, no one can determine that one person is more capable to choose a government than another, however, in fact, some are.

Many are vulnerable to being manipulated by populist movements. Lobbyists use their vote to choose governments that would protect their own narrow interests.

Members of a political party and those loyal to one need to be especially careful. Political belonging is like being in love.  Most of the time, those in love create an idealised image of the person they love, seeing them beautiful and flawless. 

They should find Scott Peck’s advice to the betrothed useful: before deciding whether to commit, fall out of love. Out of love one sees the real person, warts and all. Then, they ask themselves whether they would want to live with that person and decide accordingly.

For the election substitute ‘person’ by ‘party’.

A recurring temptation during elections is pure self-interest – the habit of asking what I will gain without considering the rest of the world. So, they choose what is good for ‘me’ rather than what is good for ‘us’. It comes from a lack of understanding that an election is about us as a people not about me.

We won’t have a better government than we actually deserve- Fr Alfred Micallef

This principle is not difficult to understand. We must prioritise the common good over personal gain because our individual well-being is only guaranteed if the entire national community flourishes.

This isn’t just a religious principle; it is a fundamental human moral obligation to live with integrity and care for others.

Each of us has only one vote.  We can use it in any way we like: to support a vision or a candidate we believe in, to spite an opponent, not to use it at all.  We can also use it in such a way that it would be wasted. We would have made our point but without getting anywhere, akin to waging a war we don’t have a chance of winning.

With so many snakes one wonders whether there are any ladders. I strongly believe that there are. In the democratic system, the choice is in our hands, we govern ourselves. Granted, not all are capable of making the right choices but in this world nothing is perfect.  The Americans boast that their constitution says explicitly “We the people”. This is true for every democratic country.

During the electoral campaign, we will be presented with the party programmes.  These should be given more attention than the single promises meant to entice individuals. Electoral programmes offer a comprehensive picture of how a party intends to govern. We may not agree with every detail but we can judge whether, on the whole, it would be good for the country.

Now, the ball is in our court.  It’s up to us to play it well.

Fr Alfred Micallef is a member of the Society of Jesus.