Remember to vote

The other day, on one of the many discussion forums that I am a member of, someone said that the way to rise above the slime of the political system, to not be affected spiritually by politics, is to not to take part in the process; in other words, just do not vote if you care about the state of your soul.

To me, this was a good joke.

If you believe that politics, with its commericals and mud-slinging, dirties your soul, by all means, feel free not to vote.

But let me buy you a hint, you and your soul are affected by the political system. Choosing not to pay any attention to the system does not elevate your soul; in fact, it might actually put it in more danger than actually running for political office would.

I understand where the nothion that politics is damaging to the soul comes from. And yes, it can be, provided that one's experiences in life helps to quicken or hinden the development of the soul.

But this particular extreme comes from the idea that the spiritual is always good, and the flesh (matter) is always evil.

Of course, what really worries me is that the writer advocating this idea was a pagan/wiccan. They might need to go back to Wicca 101.

As a pagan/wiccan/ceremonial magician that has some knowledge of kabbalah, rosicrucian philosophy, hermetics, and alchemy, I know that the body itself is part of the soul.

Maybe after you are dead, perhaps then you will no longer be affected by politics. But as long as you are living, your body and mind are affected by politics, hence so is your soul.

Those who did not vote when the German tyrant was running for office did not do their souls any favors. Not voting for the other guy was only slightly better than supporting the tyrant.

Those who say that we should not get involved in politics, that we should not vote, forget that it is evil to allow evil to grow unchecked.

(Not that I think that anyone running this term is evil, but one must admit that they will be in a position to cause a lot of misery.)

They think that by not acting, it somehow makes them holy. And if they do not want to take the responsibility to become an informed voter, it is a welcome excuse, (these are probably the same people who cast money spells and do not go fill out job applications and then blame the gods for not getting them work).

And so their soul rots from inaction, having missed the opportunity to help get one part of the world a step closer to redemption.