Why Politics?

You'd think with all of the crazy stuff already going on right now, politics wouldn't be front and center and causing more stress and conflict. And yet, politics always pops up. 

As a spiritual person I remember being passionate about social issues and policies and controversial subjects  when I was in elementary school. And you do take a step back and ask yourself: Why? 

But you ultimately realize how much is at play in it. Politics exacerbates poverty. It contributes directly to inequality and injustices. It incentivizes divides. It kills people through policy, inaction, and corruption. And it can also change all of that. 

You can't be indifferent. 

So what's going on in the political sphere now with all of the pre-presidential election news? 

Surprisingly it's Spiritual Truth. 

#1 Paralleling/Karma

I knew when Democrats demonized Trump and consistently called him out that there would be karmic mirroring. It's not that Trump wasn't doing things that were evil it's that when you call out evil you're humbled by being shown how much of the same you're willing to commit yourself. 

And so, with Joe Biden, you now have a man credibly accused of rape who also has numerous sexual harassment allegations against him. You have someone who doesn't seem to care as much about people in poverty and has had a history of racial and LGBT discrimination. You also have a very old, white man who is out of touch with the younger generation and seems incoherent a lot of the time. 

On top of this humbling/mirroring karma, there's also a replay of last year. It's a question posed to people: Will you make the same mistakes again or will you learn from past error and change? 

Will you resist change and the justice being called for, "play it safe" and vote for someone who supports outdated institutions/ways of thought/ and the establishment? Will you knowingly let that person fail and have Trump elected because more progressively-minded people will refuse to vote for him? 

Because whether people like it or not there's already a great number of people pre-disposed to not voting as-is. And if there's a candidate that upholds NONE of their core values or supports any of the policies they deem essential -why vote? 

You can say "Not Trump", but if not-Trump and Trump = No change from what currently is, there's not much of a difference there. 

#2 Identity Politics v. Class Divide

The argument then made is: Well with Biden you get LGBT rights and some improvements. Most of that is usually with regards to civil liberties and social/identity -related suffering not being inflicted. 

And so a new divide is shown: Does it matter more to ensure people's rights and civil liberties or to ensure the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" is closed. Accessible Healthcare or Non-Discriminatory policy? 

The fact is Both are essential. The fact that people are forced to choose between them is insane. 

And so most progressive demand Both. Centrists focus on Identity. Republicans focus on Neither and say both are detrimental to the U.S.A. 

And the vote is in: People decided Identity is more important. Particularity for members of the LGBT community who saw their rights being stripped away under the Trump administration. 

#3 Divide within a Party

This might also be karmic, but either way it's more truth being brought to light. 

The Democratic party used to look like a spectrum: Further left, or further center. 

You acknowledged Climate Change, but didn't care as much about doing anything about it = Center.

You acknowledge Climate Change and wanted everything to change = Progressive. 

And for a while the 2 ends of that spectrum were still considered to be under the same umbrella. Now it's been made clear that is not the case. Since everything has gotten more polarized you have 2 distinct and separate groups emerging:

The Democratic Establishment = Nancy Pelosi 

The Progressive Movement = Bernie

They are not the same. They support some of the same goals, but ultimately are 2 distinct and separate groups. 

I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future Progressives no longer identified as being Democrats at all. And in fact they can. They focus more in poverty/class-issues than Identity alone. So in some ways Republicans could even join in. It would be challenging since the Progressive movement isn't sexist, racist, or homophobic -but some Republicans would still support the goals of minimizing class divides and addressing poverty.  And it is important to remember not all Republicans are sexist, racist, or homophobic. Many can be, but not all are. 

So what do learn from this spiritually? 

It's a truth about where people are at and what we choose for ourselves. 

If the government doesn't align with your values you can't align with it. Go in the direction your heading, don't move backwards. We'll see what happens.