By Renee C. Scheidt

It’s now official. Republicans and Democrats have chosen their candidates. Trump and Harris have both campaigned in N.C. and will do so again. Many of us, however, have problems with both candidates. Some will vote for Harris only as a vote against Trump. His personality and tweets upset them so much they have turned against him. Some will vote for Harris because of her sex or skin color. Others are so disgusted with our entire government that they think voting is a waste of time. So what do you do when neither candidate is to your liking? Sit it out? or vote while holding your nose?

According to Father Chad Ripperger, one of the Catholic Church’s most experienced exorcists, Christians have “an obligation” to vote for the lesser of two evils. Does that mean I’m voting for evil? No. Father Ripperger says, “You’re voting to preserve the good that would be lost if the other opponent got in.”

The truth is that the November election goes much deeper than either Donald or Kamala. It will determine the direction of our country and whether the American experiment of self-government continues. We are at risk of losing a government “of the people, for the people, by the people” as the government becomes bigger, unaccountable to its citizens, and run by unelected bureaucrats. Ben Franklin warned us of this when he said we have “a Republic if you can keep it.” Americans must be involved and informed to prevent socialism from taking the place of self-government.

The coming election should not be a popularity contest where votes are cast based on charisma, sex or skin color. We must look beyond personalities to policies. Voting based on who seems the nicest doesn’t mean a thing regarding inflation, the economy or keeping world peace. What does count is, “What will you do? How will your policies benefit our country? What appointments will you make that will continue long after you are out of office?”

Conservatives have won major victories because of Trump’s Supreme Court appointments. Democrats would only give us more justices who can’t define “what is a woman?” Executive orders require no Congressional approval. What happens when Democrats mandate no more fossil fuels or close more pipelines causing thousands to lose good-paying jobs as Biden did with the Key Stone Pipeline? What regulations and increased corporate tax rates, which Harris has already promised, will be ordered, making it harder to run a business? Small business owners risk losing everything to have a successful business. They don’t need more red tape and higher taxes put on them.

When the platforms of Republicans and Democrats are compared, the contrast is striking. A look back at the four-year record of each candidate reveals what to expect in the future. Under which one was life better? As Ronald Reagan asked in 1980, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

Most people can quickly answer that question. Hard-working Americans want lower gas and grocery prices, a strong military that doesn’t have to learn about “pronouns,” a commander in chief that doesn’t remove soldiers first from the country, leaving behind others and $7 billion in equipment, (which the Taliban now parades before the world to mock the U.S.). They want leadership that is respected by other nations, causing them to think twice before bombing or invading neighboring countries. They want a secure border to stop child sex trafficking, drugs and illegal aliens flooding into our towns and killing our citizens. Everyday people want a president who stands with Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, one who supports parental rights to stop woke teachers telling children they can change genders. They want girls’ athletics protected from gender-confused boys competing against them. They understand that each state making its own policy on “women’s reproductive freedom” (a code name for abortion) is a good thing. They don’t want drag queens leading Story Time, their speech censored or their guns confiscated in a government “buy back” mandated program.

Trump has a lot of faults, but, compared with Harris, he is the lesser of two evils. When you vote, remember, that it’s policies, not personalities that count.

Renee C. Scheidt lives in Salisbury.