Fr. Leo Pabayo WHAT does it mean to vote according to one’s conscience? To answer that question, one needs first to understand what conscience means. Conscience is a French word which means “consciousness.” To vote according to conscience means that we are conscious of what we are doing and secondly, we are conscious that what we are doing is a good thing. Sometimes we act without being conscious or conscious of what we are doing. This is the case when we act on impulse. This happens when we react abruptly to certain stimuli. This kind of reaction or response is known in moral philosophy as a pre-moral act. We do that all the time. It is part of our instinct. It is something that we have in common with animals. It is an act that is neither good nor bad. But to be human means more than just this. To be human one ought to act consciously in the sense that in our act we are conscious not only of what we see, hear, smell, feel or taste but more. We are conscious of something more in what our senses tell us. That more is the spiritual value that underlie or is inherent in what we feel, hear, taste, smell and see at a given moment. For example, I may at a moment be conscious of a smile from a stranger that makes me feel good. Or my sense of hearing is conscious of a shouting from some angry people in the street. A further example would be that of being conscious that someone is patting me on my back accompanied by words of greeting, “Good morning”, etc.. These are data presented to me by my senses. An animal also has this consciousness also but its consciousness is limited to what its senses has made available to it. But a human being has more than just this kind of consciousness. A human being is conscious of a certain moral or spiritual value of that which he he is conscious of. Moral and spiritual value are the key words when we talk about conscience. Moral value means that of the many things that are presented to us by our senses we are at the same time conscious that these affect us and other people personally, making us think and feel  good, happy, kind, true, careful, fair, compassionate, protective, forgiving, patient, etc.. At the same time, we are conscious that there are also many things in our consciousness that can make us feel and think the opposite of these. To be human means also that of these many things that I am conscious of, particularly, their moral and spiritual value, we are also conscious that we have the freedom to choose that which will make us to be a good, happy, kind, honest, careful, fair, compassionate, protective, forgiving, patient, etc. and reject those that would make us feel less human or dehumanize us. To be a human and therefore a moral person we choose those things that we are conscious of that are morally good or make to be more human, and reject those that would dehumanize us. This kind of human consciousness in their different levels is found in all people. They are found in most religions and philosophies and institutions. Sometimes they are found in simple summaries of the spiritual and moral values these institutions. One who wants to simplify his social or life in society life may for example adopt a popular mottos found in many institutions. An example would be the one subscribed to by the Rotary Club:  Is it the Truth? Is it Fair to all concerned Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships? Will it be Beneficial to all concerned? I believe however that all of these values or human qualities are found in the Bible. Ultimately these will bring us to our consciousness of our relationship with God who is “all in all.” Applying this to politics, this means that I will choose as leaders of my town, city, province or country those who leaders have as much or most of these moral values and qualities in them.  To vote according to conscience therefore means that the candidate whom I am conscious of to have most of these values and qualities is the one I will vote for. To vote according to conscience is therefore the same as voting according to reason. In other words the one who votes according to conscience is a reasonable man. There is reasoning involved behind his vote. The opposite of a reasonable man is a fanatic. Webster dictionary defines a fanatic as someone who is “excessively enthusiastic about something.” Because of his or her excessive emotional response his or her consciousness of the data presented to him by his sense is limited. So is his or her consciousness of the values underlying the data. This is a trait usually found among young people, like teenagers, especially girls are usually girls, who are fans or fanatic for a movie star or idol are susceptible to this. This is however not only true to immature young people. Even, we grown-ups have our own fancies and fanatic tendencies. This is particularly true in politics. In politics we are being fanatic when we vote according to what we fancy about a candidate and not according to what his reason tells us. By “what we fancy” is meant that we are carried away by the fad of the moment or a “band wagon” mentality. The reason for this is because of some prejudices we have that that blocks our consciousness of the truth about a candidate. A fanatic in politics has not given time to reflect, to pray over, to be critical, to evaluate and weigh the good and the bad about the candidate, or what reasonable and knowledgeable people have said about the candidate.  He is a blind follower. Let us avoid voting wrongly by making an examination of our conscience or consciousness before voting. For me, an example of a voter who votes according to conscience that explained above would be the columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, namely, Solita Monsod. She is a UP professor and also hosts a TV talk show. I recommend for reading her column on April 30, 2016 in the Inquirer where she talks about her choice for president and vice president. She has a definite presidential and vice presidential candidate in mind. Her reasoning is not infallible. One may use his reasoning but come up with a different conclusion. But we can admire her for having a good blend of fact finding, reasoning, feeling, etc..