Holding the Fort

Two people, my dentist and a clerk at Home Depot, asked me point-blank who I voted for today. Why was I embarrassed to admit that it was McCain? There are certainly aspects of his life that are admirable - his military service and adoption of his daughter from Bangladesh being at the top of that list. Yet, a few good qualities notwithstanding, he is far from my ideal candidate. Not being the man I would choose if my choice mattered, I couldn't bring myself to even feign enthusiasm. So, why did he get my vote?

After the GOP primary, in my disappointment and disgust, I was determined to investigate and find a third party candidate I could stand behind. The problem is, I couldn't. The strongest option, particularly from a pro-life standpoint, was Chuck Baldwin. But it seemed instantly obvious to me that Baldwin is clearly less qualified to be president than even Barack Obama. Conservatives have questioned Sarah Palin's qualifications for the VP position, but to me, voting for Baldwin would be the epitome of giving a candidate a pass on the necessity of experience for his adherance to conservative positions. And, even still, I'd have been willing to give him that pass if I thought voting for him made any sense.

When it comes right down to it, I simply can't see the logic in voting third party in a national election. There is a time to have the discussion about the way things ought to be. This is not that time. When a bridge is on the brink of collapse and in doing so will admit the death of many, it is not the appropriate time to argue about how it should have been constructed nor is it honorable to refuse assistance in upholding the bridge as long as possible to save as many lives as possible because you are personally convinced that by allowing it to collapse you will have taught the misguided engineers a very important lesson about building bridges.

It is my firm conviction, instilled in me by my mother who had nothing like an easy life, that if we're going to play we have to play the cards we're dealt. If we want to play a different game, then we must get that game in play long before we come to the table. The reality is that third parties do not make any headway in the American political system because those who end up supporting them in the voting booth have not been committed to them in any substantial way in the months preceding the election. For example, how many of those who voted for Chuck Baldwin or Bob Barr did anything else to promote their cause? How many of those voters even endorsed the third party candidate on their personal blog or put his sign in their front yard?

In doing as much research as I could do in the past few months, from listening to talk radio, reading many blogs and articles, and more importantly, delving into books by Obama, Pat Buchanan, Thomas Woods, and the autobiography of Clarence Thomas, I have come to the realization that the roots of our societal problems are much more far-reaching and complicated than I ever imagined. I have changed and/or formed my political views in many areas. And while the truth is that McCain and those like him are much more a part of the problem than the solution, I came to believe that an Obama presidency is so greatly to be feared that I became willing to ally myself with the neighborhood bully in order give assistance in defeating the menace that threatens our entire way of life.

Indeed, our society must be reconstructed from the ground up, but new construction can only be a possibility if all is not lost. And though I'm not sure I consider myself an optimist, I can't help but see the signs of hope embedded like seeds in the soil of our culture. The openness to life that this generation of Catholics exhibits, the increasing number of families who are committed to a truly Christian education for their children, the growth of orthodox religious orders, the courage of the younger American bishops to speak on behalf of life and the Church. It is my conviction that our present duty is that of holding the fort until reinforcements come along - which is why, though I am not thrilled at the prospect of McCain winning tonight, I will surely be pleased to see him at the command of our post than see it destroyed by an Obama victory. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.