by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #116 posted August 14, 2020; edited March 10, 2021.
“Veto Voting” is my term for voting against candidates who are running for public office – not for them.
Last week, I pointed out that, for over a century, our nation has been turning away from God and increasingly disregarding his commandments. Not surprisingly, it is now suffering from troubles of every kind (many of which are mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:15-67) to the point where I see it falling apart in plain sight. Nonetheless, the majority of us seem blind to what is going on – particularly elected officials in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, who have been diluting our laws and law-enforcement to the point that nearly anything goes. Worse, we have begun calling evil good and good evil, which can only earn us more woes.[i]
For the last forty years, I have recognized that, if our nation is going to survive, we must turn away from our wicked ways and start honoring God and obeying his commandments. Unfortunately, during this period, I have experienced increasing difficulty finding candidates for public office of whom I can approve wholeheartedly, and I have not voted in favor of a candidate in many decades. Rather, I have voted against the least desirable candidates. Thus, my criteria for voting are formulated as negatives.
Regardless of how impressive a candidate for public office seems, he or she will not dissuade me from any of the following, which I regard as plain common sense:
First, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who is in favor of allowing – let alone legalizing – abortion. If he or she does not know that every baby in a woman’s womb is a unique human being[ii] from conception onward, and thus that abortion is murder, he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.[iii]
Second, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who is in favor of allowing, let alone legalizing same-sex marriage. If he or she does not know (a) that God made humans male and female to complement one another and fit together physically, mentally, and spiritually, (b) that God instituted marriage as a sacred rite in which a man and a woman commit themselves before God, relatives, and friends to maintain a loving and life-long relationship, and (c) that God established the family as the social unit within which the married couple can, while delighting and supporting one another, procreate, raise, educate, and train children to become God-fearing, responsible, and productive adults, he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.
Third, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who is in favor of allowing, let alone legalizing parenting by same-sex couples. If he or she does not know that children need the love, attention, and mentoring of both a father and a mother in order to grow into normal, masculine men and normal, feminine women, he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.
Fourth, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who is in favor of allowing – let alone legalizing – sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman. As I have indicated above, God has roundly condemned such behavior. If he or she does not know that these activities are (a) detrimental to individuals, families, and communities and (b) represent an open invitation to God to pour out his wrath on the society that permits them,[iv] he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.
Fifth, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who is in favor of penalizing individuals, businesses, or institutions that refuse to deal with those who break God’s laws – e.g. providing health-insurance coverage for abortions, making pastries for or catering at same-sex weddings, treating biological boys or men as females, or meeting any other demands of the enforcers of “political correctness.” If he or she does not know that such punishment is an egregious miscarriage of justice, he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.
Sixth, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who is in favor of allowing – let alone legitimizing illegal aliens – i.e. anyone who enters or is brought into the country by others without formal permission from immigration officials who are acting in accordance with federal immigration laws.[v] If he or she does not know that a nation cannot exist without secure borders, he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.
Seventh, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who is in favor of judicial activism – i.e. the practice whereby judges ignore the plain meaning of a law’s text and the obvious intentions of the law-makers who enacted it, and then interpret the laws of the land – in particular the U.S. Constitution – as he or she pleases – e.g. the Supreme Court’s astounding discovery of a hitherto unnoticed “penumbra” in our constitution that grants women the right to kill their own children.[vi] If he or she does not know that “interpreting law” is equivalent to “creating law,” which is the prerogative of the legislature alone, he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.
Eighth, I regard as unqualified for public office anyone who engages in or encourages others to engage in disrespecting and maligning the occupants of public office at federal, state, and municipal levels – thereby frustrating their ability to govern. If he or she does not know that citizens of this country must always draw a sharp distinction between a public office and the person who holds it, he or she is not fit for public responsibility, let alone governing.
The foregoing criteria are not comprehensive, but they address the issues that are most responsible for the conflicts that are tearing our country apart. Thus, they are sufficient for determining the least qualified candidates for senior offices in federal, state, and municipal elections. I urge you to join me in veto-voting to ensure that such candidates lose.
© 2020 John Holbrook Jr.
________________________________________
[i] Isaiah 5:20.
[ii] There are no duplicate entities in Universe. Entities may share a common concept or design, which is an abstraction and only exists in the minds of thinking beings, but entities cannot share a common substance, which is concrete and occupies a unique position in the space-time continuum that is Universe. Thus, no two inorganic objects, such as drops of water, grains of sand, or snowflakes, are exactly alike, and no two organic objects (creatures), such as animals, birds, fish, humans, insects, etc., are exactly alike. The real world which we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is unique in every aspect. Thus, the space-time position in Universe that I entered at my conception and will leave at my death will never be replicated – in the past, in the present, or in the future. Only God and I know what it is like. That is why only God, who is my creator and sustainer, can also be my ultimate judge.
[iii] See Genesis 1:27; Job 31:15; Psalms 8:5-7, 22:10, 127:3-5, & 139:13-16; Isaiah 49:15; and Jeremiah 1:5.
[iv] See Leviticus 18:24-28; Romans 1:32; 1 Corinthians 6:9; and Ephesians 5:6-12. People who possess sinful sexual desires often try to justify their giving in to those desires by claiming that the Bible was written thousands of years ago, and that the men who wrote it were archaic, patriarchal, intolerant, etc. They should pay attention to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:17-19.
[v] If a person is willing to break the law in order to enter our country, he or she will not be loath to break our laws after getting here.
[vi] The Roe vs. Wade ruling astonished even some pro-abortionists among the legal fraternity, and it has been responsible for the slaughter of well over 70 million, helpless infants by a variety of gruesome methods. They have been scalded with saline solution, dismembered with scalpels, and beheaded with vacuum suction. Even worse, their remains have not been given a respectful burial, but instead have been sold by the abortionists to manufacturers of medicines and beauty lotions. The entire process must create an unholy stench which reaches up to high Heaven and demands vengeance from our Creator, who has a soft-spot in his heart for little children – Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me…” (KJ21 Mark 10:14).