Before You Vote, Read THIS

I come across all kinds of things on the interwebs. Here’s a statement I saw today: “Human beings tend to be emotionally charged and factually drained, causing them to be irrational.” Yep, I thought, that about sums it up. And I also saw today a photo of two young women holding up a sign at a rally that read, “Trust Women.” Yep, I thought, irrational.

Not because women aren’t capable of being trusted, but because the idea that the number of X chromosomes one has determines one’s trustworthiness is irrational – and, in fact, sexist. Of course, there’s a larger sentiment beneath that two-word sign, but the wording of the sign isn’t helping.

The book Predictably Irrational looks at human behavior through the lens of the brain’s physiology, using research, experiments and anecdotes to explain why we are less rational than we would like to believe. It’s a bit of a blow to the ego (i.e. personality), but that’s always a good thing.

I bring this up because it’s almost Election Day and because every day is a good day for self-awareness. Once you understand how irrational you often are, the door to self-awareness is opened a bit wider. So, let’s all think about why we believe what we believe in the political arena – particularly in light of our Enneagram type.

Now, I know that this can be extremely difficult. People believe that their way of seeing and experiencing the world is correct (thanks, Inner Critic), so they will rationalize—to attempt to make rational that which is not necessarily—almost anything so that it conforms to their worldview and they can feel good about what they feel and how they think. We are constantly propping up or defending the personality we’ve become so identified with.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the current election cycle. For example, if you are a One who believes that the lofty end justifies any means, you will set up your own email server and lie about the classification of emails sent and received. If you are an Eight who’s focused on power and control, you will brag about assaulting women and chide your opponent for being sick because it’s a sign of physical weakness.

Our presidential candidates are stuck in their Type, just like most of us. It’s easy to vilify one or both of them, since their actions are writ large for all to see. The point is, if we’re not careful, we will filter our political stance and voting decisions based on our assumptions, level of emotional health and the lie at the core of our Enneagram type.

And Christians, don’t assume that because you love Jesus, you are automatically right. We filter our faith through our personality type and our irrational brain physiology, too. Our need for security and strong leaders may cause us to focus on those issues above all others, while if our personality focuses on compassion for others, we may feel convinced that social issues are of primary importance. And so on and so forth. Each of the nine Types can find Scripture to back up their position.

It’s hard to find balance. Yet that’s what we need, perhaps now more than ever. So, before you vote, I hope you will join me in re-examining the WHY behind our political convictions. Maybe there’s something we’ve missed. Maybe there’s a way of looking at the other party’s stance on a particular issue we hadn’t thought of before. This exercise will probably not change your mind—though let yourself be open to that possibility—but perhaps it will help you see beyond your own personality filter. That’s always a good thing. And perhaps it will help you have compassion on people whose deeply held convictions are the opposite of yours. That’s always a good thing, too.