So I've been doing a lot of thinking about the current state of affairs in the world, particularly in Iran. If you've been checking in every-once-in-a-while, you'll know that, although my coreligionists in Iran have faced near constant persecution from the various authorities in power in that region, Iran has a special place in my heart because it is the birth place of Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
Friends - I think that a precedent has been set. Anywhere you look in news media - online in papers, blogs, youtube, facebook, twitter, or the like - we see the mass persecution of an entire group of people. Today it is Iran, but let us not think of this madness, this oppression and negation of basic human rights as a one-off. This happens everyday.
You may have also noticed from a recent post of mine that Bahá'ís do not participate in partisan politics - particularly because the single greatest aim of the Bahá'í Faith is to unite humanity....
But then what is this community to do? What, in fact, are any of us to do?
In each of the following two posts I have included a quotation that I find to be powerful and timely. The first is from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and speaks to the roles and responsibilities of governments, rulers and leaders. The second is a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks and addresses, through the narration of a seemingly isolated and yet completely relevant event, the position that the people of the community must take. ...interestingly this poem is narrated by a person who failed to act.
Let that be a lesson we learn here and from other shameful moments in our collective history - not one that we repeat.
Disclaimer: Normally I'd do something like apologize for writing so much, and etc. But I'm not sorry. This is important - educate yourself on the world around you; don't wait for others to distill the interweb for you.
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