I believe God is the best starting point for deciding who to vote for in the coming elections. That is, we should be asking ourselves, is my candidate God-fearing? Do they strive to be morally good? Are they trustworthy and honest? Do they have integrity? And so on.
I think that’s the very minimum we can expect from a good leader. We need a standard against which to measure the qualities of any candidate, and that standard is God, for he’s the source and foundation for objective moral values.
The danger of not anchoring our political choices on a moral standard is that we can end up choosing leaders for all sorts of subjective reasons: because they’re popular, because they’re likable, because they’re wealthy (or because they came from humble beginnings), because they hail from the same town or province, etc.—and any of those reasons are compatible with a bad leader. Meaning, a leader can be wealthy, charismatic, popular, etc., and be terrible at the same time.
And we all know quite well what the consequences are if we choose the wrong sort of leaders.
This is the reason why I am fully behind the “I vote God” campaign. It’s a nonpartisan election movement that aims to form the conscience of voters through programs and the organization of “circles of discernment” among the laity. It’s a partnership between Dilaab Foundation and Caritas Philippines.
One of the first things we ask in the campaign is also the most crucial in helping voters choose the best candidates: Have you consulted God about your choice? In other words, is your candidate God-fearing? That is the best starting point.
Regardless of your political affiliation or persuasion, we invite you to participate in this movement. We invite you to look to God and be more reflective about your choices in the coming elections.
DANTE O. CUALES JR.
danteocualesjr@gmail.com