The problem with participating in the system is that you're giving away your sovreignty by asking permission.

When you go vote for a tax decrease, you're saying "yeah, I'd prefer taxes go down, but if you don't want em too, then I guess you can steal a bit more."

When you go vote for a ruler, you're saying "yeah, I'd prefer not to be ruled by an orange haired buffoon, but I trust the system to represent my best interest, so I won't cry if it doesn't turn out how I want."

Casting a vote for a specific candidate means you believe that the people next to you should be forced to live how that person wants them to live, and that you don't want to force them to do it. You're voting for someone else to force your ideals on your neighbors, possibly hundreds of millions of people, and a case can be made for billions of people. That's not how relationships between adults work, and it's not a system I want to voluntarily support or participate in. I'll do everything in my power to shake that influence without initiative violence.

As for action and education, I'm a serial participant in both and I couldn't agree more on their necessity.