Ethical Dilemma - A Friend's Vote

[GiovanniC]

Let me preface this whole thing by saying that I believe in Democracy with a capital "D". I have an optimistic idealism that might border on naivete, but I believe that everyone should be able to vote, that everyone should vote, and that everyone should vote their conscience, wherever that leads, and everything should work itself out in the end.

A friend of mine plans to vote for Kerry in the coming election. Obviously I'm happy about that, and kind of surprised because I didn't think most of his ideas were progressive or "Democratic" ideas. So I asked him why he was interested in Kerry.

Turns out, he has a lot of wrong ideas about Kerry. He is wildly homophobic, and he believes that Kerry will make life hard for "queers". He also is opposed to things like affirmative action and abortion, and thinks that Kerry will be much more likely to mirror his values, as well as "just nuke the Middle East" and closing the borders.

In summary, the guy is a Freeper with a capital "F". And he thinks that since Kerry is running against Bush, that Kerry disagrees with Bush on all issues, and that Kerry will do the opposite of Bush. And this guy is under the impression that Bush is soft on gays, abortion, minorities, and foreigners... and that Kerry wil clamp down on them.

There is, obviously, no basis in fact for any of this. But if this guy casts his vote for Kerry, he'll actually be voting against his conscience (such as it is) without realizing it.

Now, he might figure things out between now and the election, and he asks me political questions because he knows I'm a nerd about such things. Should I tell him that if he really feels the way he does, that he should vote Republican? That really is where his heart lies, whether he knows it or not. Or does my duty to my country involve ousting Bush, and any ends more or less justify the means?

I'll also add that I live in Michigan, one of the so-called battleground states.