This morning I received a telephone call from a local “constituent” who wished to ask me some questions before voting in Tuesday’s Salem Town Charter Commission election. I was quite pleased, as I have always promoted an open dialog in whatever way a person feels comfortable. What ensued, however, raised some personal “red flags”.
I fully expected any number of questions regarding my qualifications for the commission position or my positions on items directly related to the role of of the commission. There were no such questions ever asked. Instead, I was asked to explain my position on “family values”, including:
- Religion
- Pro-Life v. Pro-Choice
- Gay Marriage
- Rights of gay couples to adopt children
Now, we all have our own personal belief systems. They all help us to live a proper life and to help temper our decisions. Of course, this includes determining who we believe will best represent us at various levels of government. Where I have grave concerns here is when a belief system becomes the sole basis of electing officials and removes perspective.
As a society, we consistently oppose governments which are based upon fundamentalist religious views. We fight these types of government to typically be highly repressive and devoid of human rights concerns. If, however, we were to all vote based solely upon religious beliefs similar to the ones I received in my phone call, would we not run the exact same risk for our own government? I am finding this thinking to be increasingly prevalent in our own community lately. As a result ,more people are not voting for candidates based upon the “job description” of the political position and the candidate’s ability to fit that job description, but whether or not the candidate “thinks like I do” – regardless of the candidate’s qualifications and positions relevant to the post. That type of attitude only leads to community divisiveness – and “us” or “them” mentality that only leads to political ruin.
In order to better understand the possible consequences of complete “belief system thinking”, consider the following scenario…
You are applying for a job for which you are highly qualified based upon your education and experience. You sit down for an interview with the employer, expecting to be asked questions relating to your resume and past employment experiences. Instead, the employer only asks you questions relating to your “values”. Later, you discover that you do not get the job. Instead, someone with less qualifications and abilities got the job because they answered those less-than-relevant questions to the employer’s liking. Fortunately, we have laws that protect from this type of discrimination in the workplace, and for good reason. They are there to ensure that truly qualified people are given a fair chance at employment regardless of religious belief. While I clearly understand that employment is different from the electoral process, there is still a great deal of relevance to be found here.
As I stated before, it is important to to include one’s belief systems when voting for a candidate who’s job role may include deciding on issues relating to those beliefs. However, -
- Common sense dictates that you should also temper your beliefs in judging a political candidate to ensure that they have the overall capabilities to govern effectively in the role they are being asked to take;
- Common sense also dictates that you should look carefully at the description of the office or position up for election and ask yourself honestly if your belief system will even come into play.
That second point is what truly disturbs me regarding current voting trends in our community. The last time I checked, the role of a member of the Salem Town Charter Commission will never really address any of these “family value” issues. I could see the asking of such questions as “Are you honest?” or “Are you generally nice to people and concerned about others?”; those values transcend all people and situations and are always relevant. However, those questions were never asked of me in my phone conversation today; I can only assume, therefore, that like any relevant questions to the post, whether I was honest or concerned about others in my community didn’t matter.
Belief systems (be religious, spiritual or otherwise) are intended to aid us in making the right and just decisions in life; they should never control all other thought processes. In the case of politics and electing proper representatives, using only a belief system runs the risk of your choice not representing you or the community as it often forgoes asking the real questions relevant to decision-making. In the end, how we elect those who will represent us in some form or another should be the proper combination of beliefs and common sense.
One final thought – While the discussion I had this morning concerned me, it in no way will stop me from what I have said from the outset. As voters this Tuesday, you should feel free to have a dialog with any candidate about the Town Charter, your beliefs on the Town Charter and forms of government and any candidate’s relevance or qualifications for that commission post. I am still here for that discussion with you. Let’s keep that discussion relevant, though, to ensure that we pick the right commission members to represent all of Salem, NH both proudly and effectively.