The Jamaican Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to retain the death penalty legislation on the books. This was done through a "conscience vote". What is a conscience vote and whose conscience is being referred to? It would seem that what is meant by conscience vote is that all the members of the house were given the opportunity to express what is his or her conviction despite what the party may hold to.
It would seem though that some of the parliamentarians were unsure or afraid to do just that. Many of them referred to what their constituents dictated to them to do. They claimed they voted the conscience of those who sent them to parliament in the first place. Is this a cop out on the part of politicians? Are our politicians saying that on matters of nationally morality they would rather go with the popular view? What if the popular view is the less noble path to take?
Shouldn’t we commend those leaders who declare that even if they are voted out they have to follow their conscience? Whenever we see leaders going against the popular view it is more often than not a sign of courage and higher reason.
Many will ask whether or not we can trust our present political leaders to vote their conscience. What kind of worldview informs their conscience? Do they nurture and build their conscience in order that they can be relied upon to make ethically sound decisions even if they are not popular?
What is the role of conscience in making legislation or in public life? Should this be individual or collective conscience? Lets continue talking.
1 comment:
Rev. Notice:
I think you know my position on capital punishment. You have written a generally excellent reflection here. I am not sure I agree, however, with a statement that you have made. You have stated that, "Whenever we see leaders going against the popular view it is more often than not a sign of courage and higher reason."
I think you know that such general statements are not normally true. What woulld you say about Hitler and others who went against popular views? It might have been a reflection of "courage", but certainly not "higher reason". Voting one's conscience at the end of the day is a highly subjective matter. However, there is something called the collective conscience. The MPs were just referring to that. Doesn't democracy champion the notion that the voice of the people is the voice of God? Problematic, isn't it?
Just some thoughts.
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