Catholic Voting: Issues with the Lesser of Two Evils

Imagine someone knocking on your door that is running for public office. “Hi, I’m ‘The Lesser of Two Evils,’ this year and I am asking for your support in the primary election in a few weeks! I am as close to the threshold of having principles that one can expect this election cycle, so I am very practical and functional for those who actually have principles and for those who don’t.”

Would you vote for him? This article plays devil’s advocate and points out some ethical flaws to consider about always choosing the lesser of two evils. Sometimes, we have to; but sometimes, we don’t. That is why we pray for wisdom.

 
To begin with, why do we presume to actually, truly know what the “lesser” of two evils means? Have we ever considered that what may appear to be the “lesser” of two evils to us, is not so to God?

 
Another problem is, are we running the risk of going down rabbit holes if we also feel that we have to always choose the lesser of two evils? Do we run the risk of lowering standards altogether? Why not do a protest vote? Now, someone can counter this, and say that is not practical, that you must vote for a candidate that’s a “little” evil, as opposed to a party that’s extremely evil, because it’s practical. For someone exhausted of hearing this, you may feel tempted to ask if it’s ever okay for a Catholic to vote for someone who is not in any of these camps, even though they will lose?

 
What is also highly fascinating is that voting could be the only area of people’s lives in which they may follow the “lesser of two evils” ethical theory in this manner. People don’t run their personal lives this way. For instance, people don’t choose a spouse or date based on whether that person is the lesser of two evils, or a job, or a house or even a friend. We don’t choose things in this manner. Imagine how goofy and absurd it would be if a Catholic went around doing that. Why must Catholic voting always be different?

 
To sum up, voting for the lesser of two evils often does not, in hindsight, turn out to be the lesser of two evils; instead, we always seem to somehow end up with more evil as before, and the next election cycle is worse. Sometimes, however, the lesser of two evils is the only choice we can make – but we need to first think about what we are doing; otherwise, we all continue the free fall into practicality and cultural decay.