Baha'i Perspectives

geoffrey July 5th, 2008

The first part of this two part post, concerned a brief historical account of racial prejudice and its further institutionalization into American social and political life as documented in Douglas Blackmon’s book “Slavery By Another Name“. The question I left with to lead into this second part concerned how to define those attributes we need to progress and how take steps towards transformation. As alluded to in the previous post, the fact remains that those periods of historical conflict, especially between white and black America, have created insidious barriers – some of which manifest themselves in active defiance against another race, or in the subtle form of a veil that often descends and prevents us from bridging those gaps of missing history or cultural understanding.

Perhaps, one day, those who have escaped knowledge of this tragic part of our history will understand better why any accomplished African American, Hispanic, female, etc., can justifiably and honestly say that he/she finally gets a chance to prove her/his worth, often against many obstacles that continue to be present, both visible and hidden: “For once I am proud to be an American.” Legitimate patriotism is not reserved only for those who historically have always had the wind to their backs and therefore have no reason to be critical. Nor is it reserved for those not having been so favorably blessed by history to remain silent until they pass the approval screening of those whose ancestors have made it difficult for them to become proud of this country.

Shoghi Effendi, the grandson of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u'llah, described the racial animosity and prejudice that existed in America, and persists to this day, as “the most vital and challenging issue” facing the country.

He further states, when writing this around the 1930’s and 40’s, that to resolve this issue which “has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society”, we are required to exercise:

“ceaseless exertions“,
“sacrifices“,
“care and vigilance“,
“moral courage and fortitude“,
“tact and sympathy“.

Now, I think this idea of racial equality is one that is more or less popularly accepted by much of America today. Acceptance and recognition, however, though a step, is far different from what is required to restructure the varied landscapes of America, and transform systems and persistent societal ills and traditions that perpetuate within. It goes beyond a simple recognition or celebration of multiculturalism, phrases which one commonly hears today. It finds its answer in the deep and abiding recognition in the nobility and oneness of humanity (which in turn has implications outside the transitory borders of nations).

Abdu’l-Baha, the son of Baha’u'llah, revealed a prayer for America:

O Thou kind Lord! This gathering is turning to Thee. These hearts are radiant with Thy love. These minds and spirits are exhilarated by the message of Thy glad-tidings. O God! Let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees, and render this  just government victorious. Confirm this revered nation to upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity, to promulgate the Most Great Peace, to become thereby most glorious and praiseworthy among all the nations of the world. O God! This American nation is worthy of Thy favors and is deserving of Thy mercy. Make it precious and near to Thee through Thy bounty and bestowal.

In this prayer, what resonates with me is how Abdu’l-Baha gives recognition to the diversity of America, as that varied and democratic place which has a role to play in uplifting humankind past the bounds of narrow objectification.

While it does not do to create a collective guilt over those that did not play a part in the atrocities of the past, we nonetheless have to give credence to the fact that these atrocities have shaped the societies we now find ourselves in. What is important is that next transitional and transformative step. For the Bahá’í Faith, this involves an organic progression and reorganization of the systems which, again, have lost their usefulness or were built upon the bones of useless and damaging ideals – it’s about having and utilizing a mindset of learning – it’s about letting our future identity be shaped by a greater power; a force that is fueled and driven by the spiritual recognition of our essential oneness.

Tags: America, oneness, prejudice, race

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nooshin July 1st, 2008

There is something clearly wrong in the economic system of the world today and it is the most vulnerable who are having to pay the price. Since the start of 2006, the average world price for rice has risen by 217 percent, wheat by 136 percent, maize by 125 percent and soybeans by 107 percent, (according to a Wikipedia entry on 2007-2008 world food price crisis). These price hikes have sparked a wave of protests around the world: from Haiti to Kenya to Indonesia to Egypt and Ivory Coast.

In an interesting article (Hoarding Nations Drive Food Costs Ever Higher, 30 June 2008), the New York Times explains that since 1980 “even as trade in services and in manufactured goods has tripled, adjusting for inflation, trade in food has barely increased. Instead, for decades, food has been a convoluted tangle of restrictive rules, in the form of tariffs, quotas and subsidies….[T]he world is increasingly dependent on a handful of countries…that are still exporting large quantities of food…. [P]oor countries have frequently cut farm assistance programs and lowered tariffs to balance budgets and avoid charging high prices to urban consumers. But they have found that their farmers cannot compete with imports from rich countries — imports that are heavily subsidized”.

In our Economics 101 lectures we were taught about Adam Smith’s ”invisible hand“, about comparative advantage and the importance of free trade.  By the time we made it to post-graduate courses, our lecturers could no longer hide the fact that Messers Smith, Keynes and Friedman did not have it all worked out, and that in fact “free market forces” did not have the power to fix everything.

In a statement entitled Valuing Spirituality in Development (18 February 1998), the Baha’i International Community posits an entirely different view of economics:

Central to the task of reconceptualizing the organization of human affairs is arriving at a proper understanding of the role of economics. The failure to place economics into the broader context of humanity’s social and spiritual existence has led to a corrosive materialism in the world’s more economically advantaged regions, and persistent conditions of deprivation among the masses of the world’s peoples. Economics should serve people’s needs; societies should not be expected to reformulate themselves to fit economic models. The ultimate function of economic systems should be to equip the peoples and institutions of the world with the means to achieve the real purpose of development: that is, the cultivation of the limitless potentialities latent in human consciousness.

There is a very useful tool that economists use to measure the inequality of wealth distribution. The Gini Coefficient is a ratio between 0 and 1, with 0 being perfect equality.  The map below illustrates the 2007/2008 Gini Coefficient for the world, as based on a recently released Human Development Report by the UNDP.  The darker the colour, the more unequal is the distribution of wealth in that country.

Addressing the problem of the extremes between wealth and poverty, the Universal House of Justice said this, in their 1985 message to the world The Promise of World Peace:

The inordinate disparity between rich and poor, a source of acute suffering, keeps the world in a state of instability, virtually on the brink of war. Few societies have dealt effectively with this situation. The solution calls for the combined application of spiritual, moral and practical approaches. A fresh look at the problem is required, entailing consultation with experts from a wide spectrum of disciplines, devoid of economic and ideological polemics, and involving the people directly affected in the decisions that must urgently be made. It is an issue that is bound up not only with the necessity for eliminating extremes of wealth and poverty but also with those spiritual verities the understanding of which can produce a new universal attitude. Fostering such an attitude is itself a major part of the solution.

Unbridled nationalism, as distinguished from a sane and legitimate patriotism, must give way to a wider loyalty, to the love of humanity as a whole. Bahá’u’lláh’s statement is: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” The concept of world citizenship is a direct result of the contraction of the world into a single neighbourhood through scientific advances and of the indisputable interdependence of nations. Love of all the world’s peoples does not exclude love of one’s country. The advantage of the part in a world society is best served by promoting the advantage of the whole.

It is important for all of us, especially those from more developed countries, to remember our responsibilities to the rest of the world and to not take our material comforts for granted, as if they are somehow our “God-given rights”.  The resources of the world are the God-given patrimony of every member of the human race.

God is not partial and is no respecter of persons. He has made provision for all. The harvest comes forth for everyone. The rain showers upon everybody and the heat of the sun is destined to warm everyone. The verdure of the earth is for everyone. Therefore there should be for all humanity the utmost happiness, the utmost comfort, the utmost well-being.

But if conditions are such that some are happy and comfortable and some in misery; some are accumulating exorbitant wealth and others are in dire want — under such a system it is impossible for man to be happy and impossible for him to win the good pleasure of God. God is kind to all. The good pleasure of God consists in the welfare of all the individual members of mankind.

(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity)

Tags: consumerism, economics, food, materialism, poverty

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