Voting For The Lesser Evil

We know that it hurts anyone if he is labeled an evil. Being called a lesser evil when compared to another person also hurts but we often hear these words especially when talking about one-on-one battle between political opponents. After concluding that none of them is good enough to be voted to the position they are running for, commentors would say, pick the lesser evil and vote him to the position. It’s like having no choice but you have to force yourself to choose one.

In the coming May 13, 2013 election, there are many areas in the country where the candidates are not known to have proven integrity and competence. They are either incumbents whose performances are found wanting or candidates making comebacks but with bad track records as well. You could easily recognize these candidates by the way they conduct their political campaigns. Instead of focusing on their platform of government if elected, they speak of how evil their opponents are.

In the more than a week of my stay online, I spent a great amount of time following the comments of my townmates in a Facebook group that looks like created specifically for the purpose of allowing the conduct of online political campaigns for the local candidates in our town. Campaign posters, just like in many social media sites, are freely posted by members of the group and political issues are discussed in no-holds-barred fashion resulting to what might have been fisticuffs if the debates are held offline.

I find nothing wrong with supporters doing the talking for their preferred candidates. In so doing, details of what transpired during the candidates’ turn in power are easily exposed and claims of accomplishments are chopped down to details. However, what is is particularly disturbing to many members of the FB group is the lack of discussions on the candidates’ stand on the issue of quarrying. Quarrying has been going on in our hometown for more than two decades and the destruction it caused in the environment sees no solution as yet.

The two mayoralty candidates that we have in the coming election had allowed quarrying during their turn at the helm. One reigned for a longer time than the other. However, charges which I cannot personally confirm, say that the one with shorter stay in power allowed the disastrous activity at a much faster pace resulting to almost equal destructions to that of his predecessor.

It would make a big difference if any one of the candidates would state his stand on the issue and at the same time lay down his specific plan on how to rehabilitate the places destroyed by the quarrying that both of them allowed unabatedly in the past. In the absence of such pronouncement and plan, I could not help but say that, indeed, the voters in my hometown have no choice but to vote for the lesser evil. Who is he? I do not know.