Should a spiritual person practice Politics or should they distance themselves.
A tough question to ask. Most of my belief system is based on the Old Testament, the Gospels of Mark and Thomas and pieces of the remaining Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John.
Let me start by reminding the reader that I refer to Prophets quite frequently. I have found that somewhere along the way, we forgot that these men and women were not gods, but the messengers of the Creator.
Many of the greatest prophets were poor men with nothing. However, I refer the Politics question to two men. The first would be Joseph, from destitute man he rose to become the second most powerful person in Egypt. Did he avoid politics? Quite the contrary, he used politics as a means to protect the nation. Consider David then. Again, he started as nothing, and rose to become the King of Israel.
Two men, both starting with poverty rising through the Creator to become very powerful men. Did their politics however interfere with any freedoms given by the Creator? Never, everyone knows that the Creator separates himself from secular matters of taste. As long as they do not interfere with any laws he has himself given, the bottom line for the Creator is free will.
Consider this a case of anything not explicitly forbidden is allowed. So today in politics around the world, where do you stand? Do you allow yourself to be told what to do? Do you allow your leaders to make your decisions for you? Do you get involved with these sometimes life-altering laws that are made for you by men and women you may have shaken the hand of once, or seen in person once?
Where do you suppose Israel would have ended up if Joseph had said, "No thanks, I think I prefer to interpret the dreams. That's a pretty good occupation for me." The pharaoh might have simply let Joseph do that and hired his second choice. Worse yet, the pharaoh may have had Joseph executed for insulting him.
I personally am effected by American politics. Where do I stand? Am I Democrat or Republican my friends may ask. A wise friend many years ago told me that the perfect political party is the one you yourself start. Well, I am not blessed with wealth, so I have chosen to be a Libertarian, the closest thing to my ideals of the parties currently operating in America.
I don't mind temporary Socialist programs. But even Joseph knew that his would only run for seven years. The people would then be expected to back to earning their own livings. How about an expiration date for these? Instead of having programs designed to create dependence on the State, create programs to encourage independence of the State.
As a disabled American, I am thankful for the Disability program of Social Security.
However, if the same amount I contributed during my working years had been put into the highest yielding simple interest Certificates and rolled over at expiration, I'd be drawing my amount with no more input from my fellow countrymen. If I had been given seven years of help as I do now from the program; before my first personal withdrawal, I may have been able to draw fifty percent more. Alas, our American government does not consist of people looking to genuinely help people. It consists of people looking to make the public beholden to them.
In summary, the answer would be yes, get involved if you wish. Just be careful who you vote for if you are not the candidate, you may get exactly what you deserve.
- Matthew Gerrior, 10/2/2005