How to Vote When No Choice Feels Right

I often get asked during election season how to choose whom to vote for when all the options seem far from ideal. It's not just that the options are less than ideal; it often feels like every choice involves some degree of compromise with evil.

Well, this is a complicated question, so it requires a careful answer.

There is a well-known ethical thought experiment called the "Trolley Dilemma." It goes like this: "A trolley is out of control on a track. In its path, five people have been tied to the rails by an evil philosopher. Fortunately, there is a button that can redirect the trolley onto another track, but unfortunately, there is also one person tied there. Should the button be pressed?"

This dilemma presents an exaggerated scenario, but it is useful for helping us think through certain ethical categories. There are situations in life where every possible decision will lead to some form of suffering. The real question is: what parameters should we use to make the most ethical and beneficial decision?

Some will argue, "We should save the five instead of the one." However, a more careful thinker will ask questions like: "Who are these people on the tracks?" "How did they get there?" "What is the social cost of losing these people?" And so on.

Elections often resemble a large-scale version of the trolley dilemma, where every choice carries consequences, and no option is without cost. There are many variables at play, and different people value different things and are willing to make different sacrifices. Disagreement is natural, and we should show grace when others come to different conclusions.

The real problem, however, is that many have forgotten about the people tied to the tracks and have instead become consumed with a power struggle over the button that determines the trolley's path. Many will suffer—that is, to some degree, inevitable—but what is truly tragic is the insensitivity toward the dilemma itself.

Many view elections as mere battles for power rather than difficult struggles to discern what is truly best for the people—regardless of political affiliation.

We need to realize that we are more like the people on the tracks, so we must open our eyes and perceive that probably a good part of the "ruling class" abandoned the moral dilemma long ago. They are consumed with the struggle for control over the button, often using people as mere means to their own ends. They seek to be like God—deciding who lives and who dies. So, be careful, and do not fall into this indecent game; don't give your life for a power struggle.

Now, it all goes back to the Gospel. Let me explain. In Christ, we have a God who is not only in control of all things but who comes to us on the tracks and shares in our suffering. He is not a God who merely observes the world's suffering from afar, trying to make the best possible decision. He is a God who steps onto the tracks in our place, putting Himself in the path of the trolley that should have killed us, giving Himself up for our sake.

And we are called to do the same—not by fighting for power, but by stepping into the suffering of others with Christ-like love. We must seek to make the best decision possible in this election, but remember, making no choice is itself a choice, just as in the "trolley dilemma." Above all, we Christians are those who go down to the tracks, suffer with those who suffer, and give our lives for the good and prosperity of our cities—not waiting for politicians to do what is our calling.

Do not trust those who fight for control of the "button"; trust the One who stood in your place on the tracks—and follow His example.

May God grant us wisdom to make the best choice and love to suffer with those who suffer. Amen.

Nino Marques