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Regardless of your religion and background, there are certain faith based elements in all of us that are as deeply ingrained as the way we speak or walk. They may have been acquired through religious training or from association with a particular person in our childhood. However we got them, they influence every decision we make in life, including our vote. And, when we choose to ignore them, they represent that annoying little voice called our conscience.

They may be as basic as the Ten Commandments, or as complicated as the precepts of a particular religion, but without some sense of belief, the structure that we build a government on is gone. Like it or not, politically correct or not, the same tried and true concepts that most religions rely on are the basis of a governmental system that maintains freedom and respect for it's citizens. You may regulate the rule of the separation of state, and any one particular religious group, but, since men voted on the Constitution of our country, even that very important document is full of their faith and values.

Recent events in formerly Communist countries show that, in spite of the oppression of faith and individual moral beliefs, once the yoke was lifted, the people openly expressed their faith. And, once fear was gone, voted, based on their values.

Probably 90% of the issues we vote on, we consider merely a matter of practicality. Do we want a particular tax in our area? Do we need that new road or school or hospital? We certainly don't vote to increase our taxes because we want to part with more money. So, like it or not, we find ourselves voting on our sense of responsibility to our neighbors, and our community.

No other vote puts our own conscience and faith to the test as much as when we elect public officials. And, at no other time in our history have our convictions been put so openly to the test. Never before in history have we been so conflicted between our faith, and what is considered to be modern 21st century thinking, and political correctness.

It is natural that we lean toward a candidate that most closely represents the ideals that we hold, and, we look for this in their campaign promises and their background. We are going to vote for someone who will uphold our principals and values, and we only hope that they fulfill their promise and endure.

If history has taught us anything, it's that when a country ignores, undermines, and bans the moral and ethical faith-based values of the majority of it's citizens, it does not last long.

Learn more about this author, Lenna Gonya.
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