THE EARTH IS BUT ONE COUNTRY

JOHN HUDDLESTON

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom

1976/1988

PART II

 

Chapter 1: There is a New Wind Blowing (Cont)

B – There is no hiding place

Though it becomes more evident each day that we will have to respond to these challenges, it is still probably true that the most prevalent attitude is to try to ignore them; to forget them and hope that they will evaporate or at least not come to boiling point in our time. Natural inclination is reinforced by ignorance and by a sense of powerlessness: “What can I do anyway?” Meanwhile we have our own lives to live and all we can do is make the best of it.

• The breakdown of law and order, of public morality, the alienation of the young, and the possibility of their being sucked into the drug world are threats which hang over every suburb.
• So, too, in a more subtle way is the growing consciousness of the futility of life that so many lead, which cannot be put right with a new cocktail dress or a renewal of a prescription for sedatives.
• Another variation on the escapist theme in the West, where there is sufficient wealth to allow such luxury, is the growing practice for young people to drop out of conventional society, to terminate their education, which they see as being irrelevant to their aspirations and the true needs of society, and to live with the minimum of work.
• Communes are formed and for a time they embody some of the more attractive characteristics of the young: a greater display of love and tolerance for others, and less emphasis on material possessions than is found in the society of their elders.
• Generally, those in a commune have little thought for the future – what it will be like in the same commune in 10 years or 50 years.
• There is no hiding place. It is both selfish and short-sighted to believe that there is.

 

C – A political solution?

For those who accept that the challenges of the day must be met, probably the first approach would be to turn to political institutions. The way to change the course of events is to influence or actually control the machinery of government.

• There is no doubt that those who have chosen the political road have achieved much that is to their credit in such fields as improvements in the living conditions of the poor and deprived, and other areas of social justice; in the establishment of national independence and national self-respect, and in the defence of freedom of thought and expression.
• Somehow the hoped-for results are never quite achieved. At some stage in its development the process always seems to go sour.
• It is not surprising therefore that there is a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of politics.
• In the Western countries democratic politics are regarded by many as a meaningless game between similar party groups, a game which is irrelevant to the real issues at stake.
• In the third world of the developing countries which at long last achieved liberation from the indignity and exploitation of colonial rule in the years after the Second World War, disappointment has been frequently just as great.
• Though some political systems are more civilized and responsive to man’s needs than others, the very fact that discontent is so widespread suggests that all systems have in common some major defects when it comes to dealing with the problems of the age.
• Some of the more obvious defects are discussed in the following paragraphs.
• First, the political system relies far too much for success on individual leaders. Even the best motivated of men become confused, in the heat of the political battle, between their own personal interest and that of those whom they supposedly serve.
• The second inherent defect in the political system is the inevitability of factionalism.
• In politics the main goal is to influence or seize the reins of government as soon as possible. To do this a political party will build up a coalition out of the most powerful existing or potential social groups in the political arena – the aristocracy, industrialists, the middle class, regional interests, trade unions, tribes and so on – to lever itself into power.
• When power is obtained, the political leader will then have to pay the necessary price to those groups who helped him to power and on whose support he will have to rely to stay in power.
• Many who are repelled by the corruption and ineffectiveness of conventional politics believe the answer lies in violent revolution. History has shown they follow an illusion.
• There are others, perhaps less revolutionary in their views, who recognize the faults of conventional politics and who believe that perhaps the world could be put right if only governments were placed in the hands of experts – maybe philosophers or economists or scientists or businessmen.
• However, experts are every bit as prone to the vices of the political process as anyone else and, if there is any distinction to be made, experience shows that experts tend to be even more extreme in their quarrelsomeness and self-righteousness.

So far our discussion has dealt with two major flaws in the political system – the over-emphasis on the leader figure and the tendency to create division in society. A third and most critical flaw – which is not unconnected with the other two – is that the political system is based on the national sovereign state. As pointed out earlier the major problems which we now to face are world-wide in their scope, and they require world-wide answers. The fractional interest of political parties which are so damaging within an individual nation become even more so when placed in the context of a world society.

• As the nation is the basis for the power of a political party, its leaders tend to believe that it cannot afford to see any surrender of the state’s sovereignty for the good of all mankind, for then the party’s ability to influence policies would be seriously weakened.
• In times of overwhelming fear or strong public feeling concessions are made – as was the case in the formation of the League of Nations in 1919 and the United Nations in 1945, at the close of the two most devastating wars in the history of mankind.
• The offhand way in which the United Nations is ignored or spurned by all its members, including the western democracies, when it seems to suit their immediate selfish purpose, is one of the most discouraging, hypocritical, and reactionary features of our time.
• The same disregard for the long-term general interest is the unwillingness of the rich nations to make any significant sacrifice to help the poor countries raise the standard of living of their peoples.
• There has been some falling off in the proportions of wealth in the rich countries devoted to international aid, with the result that the gap in the standard of living between rich and poor countries has widened rather than narrowed.
• Fear and narrow-spirited ambition lead governments to see their interests primarily in terms of military, economic and political influence. Nations seem compelled to extend their power as much as possible.
• The welfare of mankind and the self-defined interests of the national power system not only do not coincide, they are diametrically opposed to one another.
• With such characteristics it is not surprising that national governments are becoming alienated from those they seek to rule.
• Conditioned by their own values and ambitions, and in an effort to maintain their authority, governments resort to violence and every sort of deviousness, manipulation of the news, and widespread use of falsehood.

All this seems to suggest that the defects of the political system are really fundamental. They are so deeply embedded in the system that there seems little possibility of it ever being able to respond effectively to the major problems of our time. If politics continue to be the main means of organizing our affairs then man will not reach his full potential. On the contrary, however optimistic one may be about the immediate future, it cannot be doubted that in the long run politics will almost certainly continue to cause deep unrest and will involve a high risk of war and the destruction of civilization.

D – A religious solution?