..."a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá‘u’lláh, www.bahai.org/r/174232426). That is what Bahá‘u’lláh urges us to be. The horror in Gaza demands a response. What does “an upholder and defender” look like? All issues that face us in our interknit world are multipolar, complex. What seems a solution may lead to even worse externalities. Yet this cannot mean that we allow ourselves to succumb to the malaise with which our society is deeply afflicted, with which I am also afflicted. For my own miniscule part--and thank you for yours--I've decided not to own stocks, much of which goes to military. Not that I had more than some months worth of retirement anyway, and not that it will make a difference to what happens in Gaza. But it will make a difference to me. The garden might prove a better investment anyway.
Divestment is certainly a step in the right direction. Not easy to do, like not shopping at Amazon. Perhaps it would also be worthwhile to refrain from tattling on the Ayatollahs and the Houthis for every offense against the civil rights of Bahá'ís, in view of the massive scale of atrocities on our own permanent record. A little modest restraint can go a long way in a glass house. Funny how nobody seems to notice the blood on their own hands.
..."a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá‘u’lláh, www.bahai.org/r/174232426). That is what Bahá‘u’lláh urges us to be. The horror in Gaza demands a response. What does “an upholder and defender” look like? All issues that face us in our interknit world are multipolar, complex. What seems a solution may lead to even worse externalities. Yet this cannot mean that we allow ourselves to succumb to the malaise with which our society is deeply afflicted, with which I am also afflicted. For my own miniscule part--and thank you for yours--I've decided not to own stocks, much of which goes to military. Not that I had more than some months worth of retirement anyway, and not that it will make a difference to what happens in Gaza. But it will make a difference to me. The garden might prove a better investment anyway.
Divestment is certainly a step in the right direction. Not easy to do, like not shopping at Amazon. Perhaps it would also be worthwhile to refrain from tattling on the Ayatollahs and the Houthis for every offense against the civil rights of Bahá'ís, in view of the massive scale of atrocities on our own permanent record. A little modest restraint can go a long way in a glass house. Funny how nobody seems to notice the blood on their own hands.