Race Unity: Not Something You Can Vote For; Something You Must Live For

Racial violence, distrust, and supremacism have been a part of American culture since the first slave ships arrived centuries ago. Some say that we've come a long way since then, but I say that we've grown too complacent and most people, based on their deeds, do not really care about race unity.

I wish we could vote our way to race unity, where we could check off the right boxes and the next day everything falls into place. I wish we could legislate our way to race unity, where we could pass laws that seamlessly integrate all the great races composing our nation. I wish we could march and wave our way to race unity, where we annually take to the streets and participate in parades. I wish we could rename our way to race unity, where streets are christened with monikers that send the message that the entire town is progressive.

I have learned that most of these actions are meaningless in the long run: the path to race unity is not a pleasant journey, it's a struggle. It's not something you can do in a day, once a year, or when there's a convenient opportunity; it's something you make a true commitment to right now and for the rest of your life. Race unity is something that takes sacrifice, not window dressing to impress your peers. It is not a flower garden that simply appears; it's pulling weeds and tilling the earth so that the seeds of more pleasing flora have a chance to root.

If the most we can personally do for race unity is acknowledge the birthday of another man who acted decades ago, then the bigots have already won.

Racism is a crime of the heart. It cannot be cured by force, that's why laws have been inadequate in dealing with this disease. There is a force, however, that's more powerful than any black President or Constitutional Amendment.

Love.

If we are to forge true bonds of race unity, it most be borne out of love. Love is the antidote to racism and love cannot be produced by a government decree or election. Love is a choice, made voluntarily by individuals and it's a lifelong commitment consisting of both joy and suffering.

I myself am inadequately prepared to make any true difference towards race unity, but in my life I can behold an example that vividly demonstrates in no uncertain terms what it means when two people decide to take a lifelong stand against racism and to create something better for future generations. To you, it's just another married couple, but to me, it's my dear friends Vince and Tessy Baugher.

I've known them for the better part of ten years. Vince is from the South, that is, from Alabama and Tessy is from the West, that is, western Kenya. They met while serving at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel. I've always known them to be gentle, considerate, and humble souls who combat racism like a gentle breeze or a soft flowing stream. They are ipso facto, proving in their daily lives that they are for race unity whether it's a day filled with comfort and happiness or a day beset with tests and difficulties.

For additional proof that this couple is unifying the races in their own personal way, meet their children, Nabil, and the twins, Vahid and Tajallii. Besides being literal examples of race unity, they are also uplifting children imbued with virtues that will prepare them for a hopeful tomorrow.


To me, this kind of commitment cannot be given lip service, it wasn't done for expedience or to please other men, it was done through love and a true desire of their hearts to change the world in their own way. In my opinion, only these measures of self-sacrifice are what can adequately bring down the walls of racism and turn them into rubble. We may not all be able to make the kind of commitment towards race unity the way Vince and Tessy do in their daily lives, but we can remember that if we truly want to eradicate racism in this land, it will take more than acknowledging the accomplishments of minorities or voting for the correct candidates. The fight against racism takes not only a heart full of uncompromising love, it also takes vigilance, sacrifice, suffering, and a life-long vision.

Liberty, Justice, in God we Trust,

Todd

The Pursuit of Happiness Begins with the Point of a Pencil

This speech was given at an interfaith talk on August 30th, 2008 at the Center for Spiritual Life in Dallas, TX. I was asked to represent the Baha'i Faith and give a talk on the pursuit of happiness.

I want everyone to take a look at this pencil, because this pencil represents something that makes me very happy. For some, like Mother Theresa, her pursuit of happiness was aiding lepers in India. How many here would take pleasure in giving up your life and going to Calcutta to work with lepers? For others, like Steven Spielberg, it was making entertaining movies with a message. For others, it might be like a typical mother and father, who finds happiness by rearing and providing for their children, like my mother and father. And for me, it's this pencil.

Now out of those four, who is the happiest?

Of course, there is no way to measure happiness. If there was, there is definitely no way to compare each other's level of happiness. What makes me happy may not make you happy. Only I can determine what makes me happy, no one can do that for me.

The pursuit of happiness begins with you.

We can help others pursue happiness. We can help most of the time just by getting out of the way, by removing obstacles. In America, we are known as a land where people are free to pursue their happiness. In this country, we don't have to worry about war affecting our livelihood. My place of business will most likely be there tomorrow. It won't be bombed out; electricity will be flowing to it; the chances of our building being appropriated by rebels for the "good of the people" are slim to none. When I go to my refrigerator, there will be plenty of food in it; if it's empty, then a grocery store one block away will be filled with all the food I could eat in a lifetime. When I am tired, I have a bed and for protection, all I have to do is lock my door.

Others don't have it like that.

It's really hard for most people to pursue happiness when they can't even get their minimal material needs met. Some materials needs must be met in order for a pursuit of happiness to begin. Sure, there are people who might be able to be happy even in the most dire conditions. One of the Baha'i Faith's central figures, Abdu'l-Baha, lived his whole adult life in prison with his father. He always talked about how he was happy even though outwardly he was suffering.

But I couldn't say the same for the people who put them there.

So how do we go about creating a world where people have enough to eat and drink, enough shelter and health care, without the threat of violence or other forms of coercion? The answer is this pencil. The answer to world peace and prosperity for all is for all you to go out there and make this pencil.

Take a look at this pencil. You have wood from trees in California. The trees were felled with saws made from metal dug from the ground somewhere else. That metal was formed into saws and shipped to the logging camp on trucks. There were people who built shelter for the lumberjacks, who made their meals and brewed their coffee. Once the tree is down, it's taken away using ropes, made from hemp imported from Canada. Someone had to grow the hemp, harvest it, turn it into rope and send it to the forests. The lead in the pencil is made from graphite mined from India, combined with paraffin from Mexico. The zinc used in the metal end of the pencil was perhaps mined from China or Australia. The eraser uses a little rubber used as a binding agent, but also sulphur chloride and pumice from Italy. The lacquer is made from castor bean oil, which also needed to be grown and harvested and needed technology to go from a bean to paint. If you use your imagination, you can see how millions and millions and millions of us had a hand in making this pencil. Not just this generation, but this pencil is the creation of all the generations of human beings that came before it.

And this is only this pencil. Imagine all the know-how and constituents that went into making these lights, this microphone, or the seats you're sitting on. Whatever you're doing, whatever your vocation is, you're drawing upon the collective output of the world at large. And when you create something or provide a service, you're contributing to the collective wealth of which all beings can partake.

The miner of zinc in Australia has no idea, not a clue that the mineral he digs up will be an ingredient for a pencil that an artist will use to sketch her masterpiece. The castor bean farmer in India has no idea, not a clue that the beans he grows will be an ingredient for a pencil that will be used by an architect who will design durable housing for the poor. The maker of paraffin wax in Mexico has no idea, not a clue that the product of his labors will be an ingredient for a pencil that will be used by a child to write his name for the first time.

The truth is, we don't know who the end user of our labor will be or what it will be used for, but nevertheless, it must be done to the best of our ability. Because when we perform our work in the spirit of service, it becomes a form of worship, because no doubt the fruits of our labor aid humanity in ways in which we can't imagine.

And that is what makes me happy; having a hand in making this pencil. My advice is to go out there and act as if the whole world benefits from your service. Call it tangible karma.

Though I believe our lot in life is to till the land as it says in the holy scriptures, work isn't the only way I pursue happiness. After work I like to have a nice bowl of soup. Maybe you've heard of Tom Kha soup. It's a Thai dish made with coconut milk, fresh vegetables, herbs, and it's quite delicious -- makes you wonder if the the person who picked that coconut knew that one day it would be used to make a bowl of Tom Kha soup in Dallas, Texas. After having a bowl, I'm happy. But if you gave me another and said, "please, enjoy another," it wouldn't make me as happy. And continuing, if that's the only meal I could have, in a very short while I'll be a lot less happy. So based on that, I can say that my pursuit of happiness goes beyond having a bowl of coconut soup.

I also play the Cajon drum, it's a Peruvian instrument. I am an artist, a writer, and I sell teddy bears, I'm a volunteer in Big Brothers and Big Sisters. And there's enough variety to where I don't feel bored, and you could say that I'm happy. However, if I lived to be 1,000 years old, even this assortment of activities will cease to make me happy. So what is the one thing that we can do every day for eternity that would bring us everlasting happiness?

I would have to say it's my relationship with God. It is the only thing I truly can say I own. That is the only thing I'll take away with me when I leave this material world. You never see a U-Hall following a hearse. And so ultimately, whatever I do, is based on my relationship with God. If I did not have God in my life, I wouldn't have the foundation, the guidance and inspiration to live a life of service. To dedicate myself to God means I've chosen to pursue eternal happiness over temporal happiness. There are people, who are rich enough to go from one temporal pursuit to another, for their whole lives, and they think they are happy. That happiness in an illusion. Jesus said it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. The pursuit of happiness requires tests, and suffering.

Take this gold coin. It is 99.999 percent pure. But how did it start? As a huge chunk of rock. It took large machines to loosen the rock's attachment to the earth. Then more machines had to hammer down the rock. And next came the fire, lots of it, to remove the impurities, so that after quite a period of refinement, there is nothing left but pure gold. This gold coin is in a protective case. If I were to take it out, it would be very soft. You could twist it like a corkscrew, pound it flat as a piece of paper, pull it into thin wires. But still, the gold will remain resilient and be luminous. Just as we test gold with fire, our spirits are tested with the fire of God's tests. For the hotter it gets, the more pure our spirit becomes. And that is God's ultimate goal for us: to beat away the dross of material existence and earthly attachments so that our pure, unadulterated soul is made manifest.

So in our pursuit of happiness, there are two kinds: the material pursuit, like making this pencil. And the spiritual pursuit, like the making of this gold.

When the two work together, when we all approach our work with a spirit of service and when we pray for tests that purify our souls, the end result is that we upraise the standard of humanity and illuminate the whole earth.

A Most Generic Introduction

Baha'is believe that there is one God and he created the entire universe and loves his creation very much. His greatest creation is man. He created mankind noble, and he loves this creation above all things in the universe. To convey his love, God sends Messengers to teach us these essential truths.

Time and time again upon hearing this message of love, the world chews up and spits out these Messengers. But a few souls upon hearing the message, recognize the truth and will rise up and spread these teachings far and wide.

Through these humble and submissive teachers, the morning light of the love of God becomes as radiant as the noonday sun. The rays of this sun reflect upon the whole world, filling it with brilliant light, making everything new once again.

As time goes by, the sun sets, and once again the world becomes dark and cold. The essential message becomes scattered and lost, and during this darkest hour is when God sends yet another Messenger.

Baha'is believe that this latest Messenger came in the mid 1800s - very recently - and that once again the morning light is coming up above the horizon. We as Baha'is are charged with the sacred duty of informing the world of this most wonderful news.

This time around, God gave us a new promise, that in this day there will be no dark. That is to say, once the sun reaches its zenith, there it will stay. So I ask you friend, if you knew that this Baha'i revelation is indeed from God, wouldn't you want to take up the task of teaching the world of this essential message: that God created us, he loves us, and he wants us to love him and see mankind as a noble creation?

If so, I urge you to investigate the message of Baha'u'llah - the Glory of God - to determine with your own eyes and not through the eyes of another if this Messenger is indeed from God. I believe that if you recognize the truth of the message, you too will be filled with love and would want to tell everyone about it.

Liberty, Justice, in God We Trust,

Todd

Education: The Path to Freedom

Picture it, Europe, 10,000 BC, a tribe of early man is hunting in the woods. Og is the tribe's best hunter; none of the others can compare to his ability to throw one spear at a deer and bring it down. Og is celebrated by the tribe, they sing songs about him, make jewelry for him and do whatever else cavemen do for one another to show gratitude.

Og is heralded as a superman, someone born with inherently superior powers, that none of his peers can achieve. They are simply grateful that Og can kill a sufficient number of animals for the tribe to survive. They lament the day that Og and his ability to bring home the meat dies.

What the tribesmen do not know is that Og is just a regular caveman like everyone else. He puts his loincloth on just like the next caveguy or gal. He's no stronger, quicker , quieter, or smarter than any of his other cavemates. So why is Og such a better killer?

It's because Og figured out through trial and error that when you aim for the heart of the beast, and it enters through the heart, the animal is much more likely to stop running, fall over and die. All the others never bothered to hone their skills to the degree that Og did.

So Og is now in a prehistoric moral dilemma: does he tell his fellow tribesmen his technique or does he keep it to himself and lavish in the praise of a hero and die with his secret?

Obviously, if Og told his tribesmen his technique, they will no doubt apply it and see immediate and measurable positive results. The other hunters will get as good if not better than Og at hunting and no doubt build upon his success. So even though Og's personal glory and fame may dry up, his tribe's chances for survival will increase exponentially.

Naturally, Og will teach his tribesmen his hitherto esoteric technique. Teaching is the sharing of new information to other human beings so that they can apply the information to better their own lives. Teaching is an act of generosity since Og didn't have to share; he chose to so that others may grow.

What happens next? The students will take the new information and indeed they become as good or even better at hunting than Og. Now Og doesn't have to put in as many hours hunting since others can pick up the slack. This creates leisure time for Og and he parlays his act of generosity by encouraging a culture of teaching. He exhorts his fellow hunters to find even better ways to hunt deer so that yields can increase exponentially.

The other tribesmen, who deeply respect Og, the great hunter and teacher, heed his call: Thog found a new way to sharpen his spear tip so that it will keep its edge for an extended period of time. Now the tribesmen have less prep work and can sleep in a little more, thus increasing their mental clarity. One especially thoughtful and refreshed hunter found it was better to hunt in two teams: one to approach the deer from rear, scaring it, and the others in front who are lying in wait for the deers approach. Ug, the new kid, hypothesized that the team should hunt deer in the morning, and by building on that initiative, the tribesmen discovered a hunting schedule that maximized yields.

Most importantly was the tribe's decision to teach the children these techniques at an early age: if they did, they surmised, and some calamity hit the elders, the children wouldn't have to start from square one; they'd take what their ancestors have learned, utilize it and build on it. Educating the children becomes a priority because it not only maintains the status quo, it allows the whole of the tribe to grow in ways yet imagined.

And so we have it today; each generation's primary responsibility is to teach the future one all that we have learned so that the next generation can improve itself and become more civilized. All it takes is one generation to forsake its primary responsibility of teaching and we go back to finding the best way to hunt deer, just like Og. Education is the key to prosperity and vice versa. The very poor, who spend all waking hours tilling the earth, have no time left over to become more educated. And without education, you have not chance of true prosperity.

Therefore, the two Baha'i principles of universal education and eliminating extreme poverty go hand and hand. We must not accept a world where huge strata of humanity live and die without a proper education; without it, you will see zounds of Ogs, who will not only use guns instead of spears, but will also kill other humans instead of deer. Without education, man will have no time to reflect on his spiritual nature so that he can engage with his fellow man with the utmost respect and morality.

Our children, who for a short time remain young and most viable to new ideas, must be taught all that should be known so that upon maturation, they are extraordinarily ready for the tests that the world beholds each and all of us. If their youth is squandered in the context of war, poverty, or in the willful ignorance of a likeminded genereration, we can not expect the lot of humanity to improve.

Peace leads to prosperity and prosperity lends itself to an environment fit for teaching so that the current generation can learn what it means to live in a peaceful prosperous world so that their children's children's children can grow and become ever more civilized.

Liberty, Justice, In God We Trust,

Todd

Ron Paul's Army Fights on Fatal Terrain

"Where if one fights with intensity he will survive but if he does not fight with intensity he will perish, it is 'fatal terrain.'"

"If there is no place to go, it is 'fatal terrain'"

"On fatal terrain, you must do battle."

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Sun Tzu describes nine types of terrain in which your army can find itself, and on only one type of terrain does he recommend to fight -- on fatal terrain. Originally, I found it odd that Sun Tzu would only fight when his the men in his army's lives were at stake. I also found it odd when Sun Tzu said that if you surround the enemy you should allow him a way out to retreat. I thought that was crazy talk since common sense tells you if you surrounded the enemy, the last thing you should do is show a way out -- that's the time you move in for the kill!

But then I remembered that Sun Tzu has centuries of precedent on the matter of warfare, so instead of chucking the book into an open fire, I pondered the enigmatic exhortations on a) why fight if there's a good chance you could die, and b) why give the enemy a way out if you have them surrounded?

The two paradoxes work hand in hand: if you surround the enemy and tell them that you will soon attack, that there will be no prisoners, and they will all perish, then they will surely fight with heart and soul to the very end. However if you clearly show them a way out, then they'll gravitate towards the less-than-lethal alternative, hence they won't fight to the death. In other words, you take the sting out of their swat.

So when Sun Tzu wanted his army to mean business, he'd place them into situations, either real or seemingly real, where the men had to fight with absolute valor or they'd die. To Sun Tzu, it wasn't worth it to go into battle unless the troops were willing to do their best, and the only way to ensure their best effort was to place them into a situation where they could die -- that is, fatal terrain.

Fast forward many centuries later, we can look at Ron Paul's bid for the presidency and see Sun Tzu's invisible hand guiding his grassroots army deep into fatal terrain. To Ron Paul supporters, they must fight with valor or they will perish. There is no alternative; the quest for the Paul presidency is a unique opportunity -- there is no "another day to fight."

In these past few months, I have seen Ron Paul supporters vote in online polls, text votes on broadcast debates, post innumerable responses to any and all of the innumerable blogs and news articles written about him online, hang homemade signs in every US city I've been to since March, produce thousands of videos and upload hundreds of interviews and news pieces to YouTube, many of which are online only hours after the televised event, and donate money in record amounts.

The most enigmatic aspect of Ron Paul's is the numbers. How many Ron Paul supporters are there? We won't have that answer until the primaries, but that's the most amazing part of the campaign: the output of Ron Paul's army completely transcends their actual numbers, no matter what they really are. Each soldier in Ron Paul's army does the work of platoons, companies, or legions of soldiers in other people's armies.

And that is the aspect of Ron Paul's campaign that can inspire us all: no matter what the size is of your army, so long as you are - or even think you are - fighting on fatal terrain, and you fight that battle with valor, you will emerge victorious. Whether you are a Ron Paul campaigner, a humble Baha'i, or a member of any other marginalized cause, worry not about your sheer numbers, simply fight the good fight with complete self-abnegation and sacrifice, and you will see the fruits of your labor. Baha'u'llah (the prophet and founder of the Baha'i Faith) implored us in the Tablet of Ahmad to be so steadfast "that thy heart shall not waver, even if the swords of the enemies rain blows upon thee and all the heavens and the earth arise against thee."

I take pride in seeing my fellow Americans valorously fight for something they believe in, even against such incredible odds. God bless the meek, for they shall inherit the earth!

Liberty, Justice, In God We Trust,

Todd

The Three Values of Money

Lately, I've been studying the history of money, the current monetary crisis, and the future of our money system. I even bought a couple of ounces of gold in the form of Canadian Maple Leaves just to see what will happen over the next couple of months.

It's no surprise that I would have a dream about money and it's related to the faith. Here it goes... I have a Ziplock bag full of coins and I'm spending them at 7-11 for energy drinks and the like. I count the amounts out in quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies and the occasional half dollar.

I spend about five dollars worth of the money over a period of days when I realize what I have done: the money is worth a lot more than what it appears to be; it consists of coins made from precious metals such as gold and silver and there are also many antique coins that would be worth a fortune to collectors. Either way, the actual worth of the coins far exceeds it's face value. A gold coin with the face value of five dollars has an inherent value over $800, and some of the antique coins worth pennies are so rare that they could be auctioned off for thousands.

As soon as I realized my mistake, I immediately stopped spending the money and promised myself not to spend these coins until I found out their true worth so that when I went out to spend them, I would get their true value.

Afterwards, I'm sitting on a comfy chair at the Dallas Baha'i Center where I pick up an antique music box that has a hang tag that reads "To the Spiritual Assembly of Dallas; From Lew Rockwell." Lew Rockwell is an economist from the Austrian school that favors sound money and he maintains a website that I visit at least a dozen times a day. I don't know what the music box symbolizes or why he'd give it to the Assembly.

Reflecting on this, here are my thoughts... In life, we are all given a bag of coins, but so often, we just freely spend them without safeguarding them or stopping to determine their true worth. If we don't, we risk spending the entire lot for a meager payback.

O Ye Sons of Spirit!
Ye are My treasury, for in you I have treasured the pearls of My mysteries and gems of My knowledge. Guard them from the strangers amidst My servants and from the ungodly amongst My people. (Baha'u'llah - The Hidden Words)

To me, once I came to terms with the true value of the bag of coins, it,symbolized the recognition of my inherent nobility.

O Son of Spirit!
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting. (Baha'u'llah - The Hidden Words)

The face value of a coin symbolizes the value the masses give to any human action. For instance, sex is an action that many Americans take for face value: a physical act and nothing more. The coins are spent in increments of pennies, nickels and quarters, when in reality the inherent value of such acts are as valuable as ancient tokens made of precious and resilient metals such as gold. In other words, they shouldn't be used for everyday transactions, but saved for a future where the coins could fully manifest their wealth.

O Son of Being!
Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants. (Baha'u'llah - The Hidden Words)

Most of us simply don't take the time to find out The only way we can learn of our inherent value is by educating ourselves.

Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value, education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. (Baha'u'llah - Gleanings)

Once we realize our true value, we must practice humility by not flashing our cash. It takes patience and wisdom to know when to use our treasures so that we can invest them in things that will bring back good dividends.

I find it odd that I've gotten so much spiritual insight from a dream about the most material of possessions, but God works in mysterious ways.

Liberty, Justice, In God We Trust,

Todd

A Free Market Theory to Ending the Extremes between the Rich and Poor

Introduction

In most introductory Baha'i materials, you will no doubt read about the social principles that guide the faith: equality of men and women; harmony of science and religion; universal compulsory education; universal auxiliary language; independent investigation of truth, and the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty. These teachings dovetail under the principle of oneness: God is one, mankind is one, and religion is one (revealed progressively as humanity matures). Summing it up in one word: unity. Unity is defined as working together; it's not simply a state of sameness or equality.

The Baha'i principles work together and are unified most profoundly. I will demonstrate how one of the current exigencies of mankind, the extremes of wealth and poverty, can be solved by applying free markets alone, so long as other principles are upheld and promulgated in tandem.

The first principle of the Baha'i Faith that must be promulgated and put into practice is world peace. If we regarded ourselves as brothers and sisters of one human family and saw each other as creations of the same God, we would be less likely to murder each other on a wholesale level. Peace is a natural state, and it is unfortunately upset by the world's rulers. I will speak more on that, but in short, wars and warmongering must stop.

Once peace is established in a region, people are free to do as they please without fear of death or bodily harm. After safety needs are met, people will want to improve their quality of life by acquiring more food, better education for their children, better shelter for their families, and other beneficial goods and services. Goods and services are the measure of wealth, not money. If money created wealth, then we could simply print off billions of dollars and distribute them to the poor. But in a short period of time, the market would learn of the surplus dollar supply and raise prices.

Goods and services do not appear out of thin air. Entrepreneurs enter free markets where goods and services are needed. Of the utmost importance in this day is for entrepreneurs to provide goods and services to the poor that improves their quality of life. As a bounty of this revelation, Baha'u'llah has exalted the station of work:

"It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form of occupation, such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted your engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One." (Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 26)

Obviously, free markets do not work in a war zone, at least not at full capacity. It's hard to convince an entrepreneur to risk his capital and life when there are many peaceful areas of the world that need goods and services. Likewise in authoritarian regimes: though a police state may offer a high degree of security, successful businesses can be co-opted or nationalized along with any other investments if the state so chooses. For free markets to work to its fullest potential, they must exist in a climate that is both peaceful and free from government control.

A Free Market Scenario

This is an example of how the proliferation of free markets can eliminate poverty. An entrepreneur visits a farm in Tanzania selling tools that will increase a harvest's yield by a third. The farmer dips into his savings and purchases the tool. Thanks to the new tool, the farmer has a bumper crop and so he now purchases a water pump that will save days of labor in the field. The extra time allows the farmer to grow a valuable cash crop that previously would have been too time consuming to grow. With the new profits, the farmer buys more land, farms more, and reinvests his profits into his business.

After a while, he has so much more capital that he is able to hire farmers to tend the fields for him. Word gets out that this farmer is successful, so competition moves in and the farmer now has to lower costs and pay his employees more to keep them from working for the competition.

The successful farmer, no longer satisfied with running a farm, spends some of his free time learning new skills from a correspondence course on technical writing. He gets his degree and publishes manuals. They become bestsellers and farmers everywhere benefit from his knowledge. Another person is inspired by the manuals and she establishes a school that's dedicated to teaching agriculture. The process proliferates and over time, less capital and labor are needed to manage farms, and wages and prices will normalize. Because of this, some farmhands will be let go and some farms will go out of business entirely because they couldn't compete as effectively.

The going-out-of-business phenomenon is the free market process known as creative destruction. As a market grows, the best will remain and the rest go on finding new ways to employ their capital or newly minted skills and experience. Some of these people may go work for the printing press, others might become teachers at the agricultural school, others still might find work at the farming tool factory and a few luckily talented people might decide to license the book so as to translate it into other languages and spread the knowledge to new markets. Some farm owners might liquidate their capital and purchase land in an area low in competition and the process repeats in a previously unexploited area.

In this short example, you can see how innovation and drive build off each other benefiting all parties. The owners put up the risk, but gain profit. Some of the profit is turned into labor, thus creating new jobs. If the entrepreneur is successful, demand will increase, and thus so will labor resulting in both higher wages and more jobs. Consumers benefit from the farms' output and over time, the consumers are paying less for better quality products. The quality of life increases for those who participate in the system.

Wealth and Poverty is Relative

To an Indonesian sweatshop worker, the McDonald's fry cook in America has it pretty good on most days. Likewise, as Chris Rock humorously noted, if Bill Gates woke up with Oprah Winfrey's money, he'd jump off his balcony.

So in order to analyze the principle correctly, we must assume that the principle relates to the gap between the two extremes rather than saying Situation A is 'rich' and Situation B is 'poor' and making our goal to raise the standard ever more towards Situation A.

Wealth is relative. I read about a man who was watching a show on television about a horseman trotting at breakneck speed taking a package from the base of a mountain from somewhere in China all the way to the empress living miles and miles away. The package transfered from hand to hand until it got to the empress who opened it revealing... a package of ice. Yes, the empress wanted iced tea and she got it. After seeing this sequence, the man, who was living off a stipend at the time, got off his recliner, went to his freezer, and popped out some ice cubes. He realized that he had it better than the empress in this respect.

And it continues throughout history... When they built the Palace of Versailles, the gardeners planted orchards of orange trees around it to cover the stench of fetid waste, but even when the poorest of Americans use the bathroom, our evidence is flushed into oblivion. Likewise, the king of Austria could listen to Mozart in concert, but nowadays even the poor have access to Mozart, Beethoven, Elvis Presley, and a myriad other artists 24 hours a day thanks to the now cheap invention of the radio.

True material wealth is not measured in the amount of money, or even gold, one possesses; it's measured in the amount of goods you possess and services you have access to. If you live in home with indoor plumbing, a fridge full of food, air conditioning, a computer with Internet access, cable TV, telephone service, and a car that could take you from point A to point B at 60 miles an hour, then you my friend, are a thousand times richer than any king who has ever lived from the dawn of humanity to the turn of the 20th Century.

From One Baha'i Principle to the Next and Next...

Free market capitalists (as opposed to crony capitalists who rely on machinations and political maneuvering to get ahead) should focus their abilities on providing goods and services for the poor. They may not profit as much per customer, but given the number of poor customers out there, they can make up for it on volume. Capitalists do not need me or anyone else to tell them that as the market on its own will seek areas where goods and services are most needed.

Having goods and access to services is the hallmark of wealth. As these poor gain in material wealth and are no longer expending their energies on sheer sustenance; they can spend their extra time and resources on things like education. If women and men are valued equally, then women will finally get commensurate education. Since women are the primary teachers of the young, an educated mother would teach their children better than an uneducated one, thus raising the bar of early learning levels among children. As the generation grows, they will have more skills and abilities to realize their inherent nobility, thus building off the sacrifices the previous generations have done for them. So long as peace is maintained and regimes are limited in their ability to thwart the investments of entrepreneurs, they will continue to enter the market, competing against one another, bringing the price of goods and services down, thereby increasing the value of money being used by the poor.

One World Currency = Gold

"A world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency, of weights and measures, will simplify and facilitate intercourse and understanding among the nations and races of mankind." (Shoghi Effendi, 1936)

The wealth of the poor and middle class can be augmented by re-adopting the one world currency that was in effect during the 19th Century, that is, the Gold Standard. The Gold Standard keeps governments in check by forcing them to be fiscally responsible: they can't spend more money than the amount of gold it has on hand. Wars become cost prohibitive, so it forces governments to try any other options but war. In fact, the 19th Century was known as the Century of Peace partly because of the world's adherence to the Gold Standard. Not until World War I did the world go off the Gold Standard.

Also, with the Gold Standard, inflation is nil. In fact, deflation occurs, which is of enormous benefit to the poor. Deflation encourages people to save because they know that as they save for a particular good or service, the price of the it will fall due to competition, making their money more valuable. It makes loans cheaper because people wouldn't be charged a premium to make up for inflation. The value of the money goes up just by allowing free markets to thrive; the poor benefits by a gold-based one world currency and competition. It will allow them to improve their quality of life much more quickly and dramatically than with an inflationary monetary system and central planning.

If we return to the Gold Standard, then the more valuable currency can be spent on learning other languages so that wherever we travel, we will have a friend. Being members of one language group increases the likelihood that we will see each other as brothers and sisters of one family. As we become more educated, and more aware of our togetherness, we are less likely to fight one another or victimize each other through crime. We would spend more of our time and resources coming up with new inventions and innovations. As with all state-of-the-art inventions, the rich would benefit from them first, because the newest products and ideas usually have the higher price tags. However, if the Gold Standard returns, free markets proliferate and authoritative governments go the wayside, then the time for the poor to wait for these new goods and services would be greatly reduced.

The Nobility of Man and the Dignity of the Human Race

Naturally, we can't flip a switch causing all the world's leaders to go sane and allow the natural human conditions of benevolence, innovation and ingenuity to proliferate, so what do we do in the meantime?

The Baha'i Writings talk about the rich voluntarily giving up their wealth to help the poor. To me, this doesn't necessarily mean that rich countries should ship foodstuffs to poor countries. For one, virtually all governments earn their income through taxes, which are not voluntary, and second, poor countries are usually dominated by authoritarian regimes, and so the brunt of the donated goods end up in their hands, thus strengthening their control. Also, the influx of donated or subsidized foodstuffs can compete against the local farming output, which may put the farmers out of business, diminishing their ability to become self-sustaining. The only long-term solution to solving the crises of starvation, poverty and warfare is to oust the tyrants wherever they are.

World Parliament and a Multinational Tyrant-Outing Strike Force

"The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh, implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations, races, creeds and classes are closely and permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its state members and the personal freedom and initiative of the individuals that compose them are definitely and completely safeguarded." (Shoghi Effendi, 1936)

The Baha'i writings speak of having a world parliament where the countries of the world can convene and sort out their problems with consultation. The writings also speak of when a tyrant invades another country, it is incumbent for all the other countries to strike out and defeat the tyrant before he gets the upper hand.

I agree with this in principle, but I have no shame in saying that it's way too early for the kind of system that Baha'u'llah envisions to come to fruition for the simple reason that the concept of justice is simply too flimsily upheld throughout the world. Right now, nations need their sovereignty. The power brokers of the world are too lax in ethics for us to allow them to write the rules and constitution of a world parliament. We see the obvious inequalities in organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, NAFTA, whose sole purpose is to sew into law regulations that favor the richest and marginalize the poor. Skeptical readers should watch The Yes Men, The Corporation, or read Confessions of an Economic Hitman or The Secret History of the American Empire for starters.

The basic problem with creating a world parliament now is that without justice and adequate consultative representation, the elite will broker deals that trump national constitutions, thus allowing all important policies to be written by just a few of the world's most powerful people and then forced upon the masses under gunpoint, imprisonment, and other indignities. You can imagine what these elite would do if they were able to send out a multi-national strike force at will. It would be unilateral, self-serving, and destructive. The destruction and restoration would no doubt be paid by member nations, coming in the form of taxes, which are taken from the citizenry without their permission.

Even at the United Nations today, the reset button needs to be pressed. The five permanent seats on the security council need to be rescinded. The budget and purview of the entire body needs to be severely redacted. The UN is good for a sounding board, to allow otherwise marginalized countries to have a voice, but even then, many of the delegates are appointed by tyrants, so you have a room filled with with voices vetting for their autocratic bosses.

You cannot create a world order based on liberty, freedom and justice when your main ingredients are tyranny and force. Liberty, freedom and justice must be the ingredients of a new world parliament, not the expected product.

The Rich Voluntarily and Radiantly Aiding the Poor

"And as man in this way is not forced nor obliged by the government, but is by the natural tendency of his good heart voluntarily and radiantly showing benevolence toward the poor, such a deed is much praised, approved and pleasing." (Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions)

Let's look at the situation in Burma and apply the above quote to aiding the oppressed there. We know we can't send governmental aid. That aid comes from taxes, and taxes are not voluntary. The Red Cross works solely with voluntary contributions, but most of their aid would be usurped by the military junta there. In theory, we could form a multinational strike force, but by the time money was collected and an agreement reached, the situation would be either over or out of control. Therefore I propose an idea that would give the people of Burma a voice so that they can redress the grievances of their government so that the atrocities that are carried out in the name of law and order can have a chance to stop.

One of the ways the monks and their sympathizers protested the junta was by filming their marches and posting them on the Internet, beatings and all. The world took notice, the media turned their sights on this unknown Asian country. Then something happened that took me by surprise: the Internet was turned off. Like a switch, all outside communication stopped. The world stopped watching, the protesters were beaten more severely and the peaceful freedoms protest ceased.

The Internet shouldn't have a switch. It should always be on

"A mechanism of world intercommunication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvelous swiftness and perfect regularity." (Shoghi Effendi, 1936)

Applying a free market principle known as a sales differentiation, let's get in the business of supplying friction-powered laptops with satellite Internet access for Americans. The laptops would be spartan; it would be used primarily for surfing the net, and so the cost of production would be low. Also, you can use your laptop anywhere in the world, no matter how far away you are from civilization because it connects via satellite. Here is the pitch: for every laptop you buy here in America, you provide five laptops with satellite Internet access to be placed in a third world country.

The third-worlders could use their laptops for education, yes, but the foremost tool would be to use it for instant communication. If you're a political dissident trying to get the word out in China, Burma, Sudan or any other country where oppression is the national pastime, sustainable communication is your best friend. Autocrats cannot turn the Internet off if the access comes from space. Autocrats cannot cut off the electricity (an effective and common weapon) so long as there is a human hand to turn the crank. Couple these feature benefits with a small size and you have an effective concealable handheld weapon that can help bring regimes to its knees.

The best part about it is that it's a prime translation of the rich voluntarily helping the poor. We would pay more for the product than we normally would here in America, so that it could help the poor in another part of the world. If the poor and oppressed could get this kind of product and diligently use it to raise their standard of living by toppling their local tyrant, then we just had a hand in upraising the living standards of the whole world by abiding by one of the Baha'i principles.

And this is just one idea from one person. The free markets, and its inherent characteristics of spontaneous order and ingenuity, could come up with hundreds of products and innovations that would allow the rich to voluntarily help the poor.

Can the Free Market Come up with a Better Moral Compass?

The purpose of religion is to unite mankind so that we may work together and live in peace. The purpose of a government is to foster an environment where we can work together and live in peace. A religion is only good if it is based on sound ethical principles based on natural laws. A government is only good if it is based on sound ethical principles based on natural laws.

Obviously religion and government as it stands today have failed us. Fortunately, Baha'u'llah has renewed religion for a changing world and has given us a moral code suitable for any age, but for this age in particular because it takes into account the needs and exigencies for this day. I urge anyone who is reading this to take the time to study the writings of Baha'u'llah to determine if his treatises on justice would be applicable in your life and in the world at large.

The free market doesn't create, it enables the people who participate in it to create. Likewise the free market doesn't disseminate ideas, it allows free people to do just that. And in the marketplace of ideas, so long as each idea has the same opportunity, the market will determine which ideas succeed and which ideas don't. So long as people are free to choose or not choose a faith and stay in it or leave it without being harmed, then we've achieved a lot as far as human rights are concerned.

Whether someone becomes a Baha'i or not my main concern, but my freedom to teach and practice my faith wherever I go is of the utmost concern, because if there is a part of the world where there isn't freedom of religion, then that part of the world isn't free at all.

Concluding Thoughts

The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 259)

Individuals can only fully exist when their natural laws and rights are enumerated and protected. We should strive and maintain a world order where individuals are absolute owners of their own lives, and are free to do whatever they wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others the same liberty. Unfortunately today, this way of life is mostly theoretical because of the rule of tyrants. Once people are free from tyranny, we can work to raise the standard of living worldwide through the promulgation of free and fair markets, unencumbered by taxation, regulation, and subsidization.

Being on one world currency based on gold will ensure that governments remain fiscally responsible. Having a working world parliament based on justice would ensure that tyrants do not make a comeback, because if they did, a multinational strike force could be called up that would take them out. This can only come into being at a later date when the concept of justice is more fully adopted and promulgated mostly through the betterment of educational systems.

Education, which if it's allowed to proliferate and experiment in a fair and free market will allow the best teaching methods to promulgate. The generations to follow will be better than the last, and they will continue to prosper by having a better understanding of our humanity and how we should treat each other as members of one family. Working together, collaborating, competing, and cooperating in a free society are the hallmark characteristics of unity.

Liberty, Justice, in God we Trust

Todd