Is it a Sin to Vote in the USA 2020 Elections?

Clearly: it is a sin to vote either for a Democrat or Donald Trump in 2020! I have no doubt!

Direct participation in a grave evil is  sinful. A vote for the DNC is cooperation in the genocide of the innocent, the little ones, the unborn. Any Catholic who does not see this clearly, directly, intuitively without deliberation suffers a grave disorder in moral judgment. A vote for Trump, I will argue, presents a scandal to our young and is evil in a more complicated manner.

To be clear: I do not allege that such voters are subjectively culpable of sin in the sense of intention, deliberation and consent of the will. Rather, they are objectively supporting structural evil as they suffer a mysterious blindness of moral vision, an ignorance that may be itself be in some degree invincible, which is to say unavoidable and therefore not culpable. So I see it as a grave sin, but not necessarily a personal mortal sin since such requires, in addition to grave matter, both deliberation and free consent of the will. The 50 % of Catholic voters who will pull the lever for a Democrat are not envisioning the wrenching from pain, the spurting of blood as millions of innocents continue to be slaughtered on the altars of the Sexual Revolution. On the contrary, they swell with righteousness as they condemn the despicable Trump and protect the globe, welcome immigrants, move towards health care for all, decrease gun violence and so forth. An equivalent self-righteousness operates on the Trump voter as he protects innocent life, religious liberty and the family. Both sides are right about what they oppose; but wrong in what they support. It is like Germany in the 1930s: choose between Hitler and Stalin!

My case against Trump is based on his personal character, not his policy or politics. In my own moral/political calculus, his defense of life, faith and family far outweigh the multiple failings of his policy positions which are largely impulsive, incoherent, unpromising and sometimes reckless. But his personal behavior, his absolute disregard for truth and contempt for people, make him for me a moral pariah.

Every person in a position of power, authority or status is a moral exemplar. Such is viewed by others and, by an inevitable if often unconscious mimesis, exerts influence by attraction or repulsion. Every leader...executive, principal, coach, crossing guard, politician...embodies and personalizes (always imperfectly) the values of the community. This influence is mega-multiplied for the President of the most powerful country in the world and for an out-sized personality like The Donald. Therefore, every candidate for such a position must be evaluated for two things: technical expertise in accomplishing the given task, and personal integrity (but not perfection) in morals fundamental to the specific group.

Regarding competence, Trump is pathetic; regarding character he is catastrophic. He is not a full blown sociopath (I see glimmers of empathy and conscience) but his narcissism, easily the worst in the world, has a vicious thrust that has destroyed his capacity for truth and respect.

A liar is one who knows the truth and intentionally tells a falsehood. Trump is not a liar; he is not even a compulsive liar. He seems to lack an awareness that there even is a reality, a truth, an objectivity beyond his own needs and desires. This is a moral depravity of enormous proportions. If he lived near me I would forbid my children to talk with him or even be near him. He is one with whom you cannot speak because he recognizes no objective reality beyond his own immediate desires and emotions. It is this horrific condition that underlies his contempt for all professions: the intelligence agencies, the media, and the military.

Rivaling that moral depravity is the contempt he holds for those who offend him. Shamelessly, he disrespects women, immigrants, political opponents and many of the very people he hired.

Almost half the electorate is caught up in Trump-Derangement-Syndrome in that they have become psychologically unhinged by their hatred of him. I do not completely blame them. I have a mild case myself but am fortunate that my disgust for him is balanced, and even outweighed, by my aversion to the DNC. Lately, I have been trying to practice a degree of detachment from politics to maintain my own inner serenity and openness to the workings of grace in my own life.

If I were a bishop, I would have to consider withholding the Blessed Sacrament from all communicants on the Sunday after election day as a gesture of moral correction. I doubt that canon law would allow it. But consider: if a critical mass of Catholics (even 20 or 30%) boycotted these electoral choices, both parties would be scrambling to see what they could change to recoup the vote. The left would suddenly care about innocent life and the right about already-born life.

Our politics and our culture has sunk to a dark, putrid place. Increasingly I agree with the Benedict Option of Rod Dreher: we need to (with nuance, discretion and prudence) largely disconnect from a culture of death and despair and cling to our families and our Church and all the riches that flow into and our of them.