Article: Integrity in a Candidate: Why I’m a Single-Issue Voter

It is Tuesday afternoon on Election Day. At the time of this writing, no one knows the results of today’s election in the United States.

There is a certain type of voter that is called a “single-issue voter.” Often, a single issue voter is a person who will only vote for a candidate based on a single issue. For example, many people will only vote for anti-abortion candidates regardless of their stance on any other issue.

Some people admire single-issue voters, and some despise those who are single minded in their electoral deliberations.

This week I realized I am a single-issue voter. I haven’t always been this way, but now I am.

What is the single issue that will determine whether or not I will vote for someone?

INTEGRITY.

Integrity is the quality of being honest, acting with strong moral principles, and doing what is right even when no one is watching.

The word comes from the Latin root integer, which means “whole” or “complete”. When you have integrity, your inner values, beliefs, and public actions match up without contradiction.

When I was younger, I naively believed most candidates for any office operated with integrity, even if I didn’t agree with their stances.

Do you remember how high the bar was to hold any elected office?

In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle misspelled the word potato at a spelling bee during an election stop and there was a vigorous debate regarding his “fitness” to step into the office of the presidency if needed. This wasn’t even about integrity and people questioned his ability!

The bar used to be a lot higher for those running for office.

We currently have people in elected office and political appointees who are named in the Epstein files. We have elected officials who misuse campaign funds, abuse their power and become wealthy beyond their paychecks.

I want to remind of you my definition of evil (that I wrote about previously). Evil is anything that God will put an end to on Judgment Day or is undone through the work of Christ and will definitely not be welcome in heaven.  (https://benbergren.com/article-what-is-the-definition-of-evil-a-pastors-plain-answer/)

It appears that integrity is no longer a given when running for any office, therefore I became a single-issue voter and the issue for me is integrity.

I’m willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. But when honesty leaves the room and favoritism and cruelty take its place, I’m done extending it, whatever the party and whatever the name on the sign.

We live in a multi-cultural society, and I’m glad of that. I don’t need a candidate to believe what I believe. I need them to be whole: to say what they mean, do what they said, and own it when they fall short.

That isn’t the same as perfect. I’m a Lutheran, and I know nobody is. The people I can trust are the ones who can say “I was wrong” and mean it. Integrity, for me, isn’t a spotless record. It’s no gap between the person on the stage and the person in the dark.

When I see that, I look for the fruit that shows it’s real: kindness, compassion, justice, self-control. They’re evidence of integrity, not separate boxes to check.

So yes, I’m a single-issue voter, because character matters. I don’t want Jesus to ask me one day why integrity mattered in the church but not in the voting booth.

God bless,
Pr. Ben