American Dreamer

Article first published as Martin Luther King, Jr: American Dreamer on Blogcritics.

The essence of the American Dream can be captured in two words: upward mobility. On more than one occasion, I have written about how for those left behind by the Great Recession, the American Dream has become a dream deferred.

Research recently reported on in the New York Times suggests that the problem is deeper than I imagined:

"Benjamin Franklin did it. Henry Ford did it. And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights. 'Movin’ on up,' George Jefferson-style, is not only a sitcom song but a civil religion. But many researchers have reached a conclusion that turns conventional wisdom on its head: Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe."

Perhaps it is time to wake up from the so-called American Dream. Perhaps it is time to dream bigger than the opportunity of upward mobility in the material sense. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of America's greatest sons, offered an alternative kind of dream. While "deeply rooted in the American dream" its branches stretched to the heavens:

"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"

Dr. King's dream was about acquiring the kind of wealth that is invulnerable to market forces and the chances and changes of life. His dream was about becoming rich in love and justice in our personal lives and in the nation. His dream was not just about upward mobility but upward nobility.

This kind of wealth demands just as much urgent national debate as the material kind. In fact we will never truly achieve the later without the former. I believe this is what 'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), Head of the Baha'i Faith from 1892-1921, meant when he made the following remarks while visiting the United States in 1912:

"Strive, therefore, to create love in the hearts in order that they may become glowing and radiant. When that love is shining, it will permeate other hearts even as this electric light illumines its surroundings. When the love of God is established, everything else will be realized. This is the true foundation of all economics... Manifest true economics to the people. Show what love is, what kindness is, what true severance is and generosity. This is the important thing for you to do... Economic questions are most interesting; but the power which moves, controls and attracts the hearts of men is the love of God."

King's life and death were an incarnation of this kind of deep love. As we commemorate the day set aside in his honor, let's consider the implications of his dream for the economic questions of this election year and beyond:

"This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy... Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."

Image courtesy of Wikimedia, taken by the National Park Service and considered in the public domain

The Ocean of My Words

In Man's Search for Meaning, Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl wrote:

"There is nothing in the world…that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the knowledge that there is meaning in one’s life."

In the Baha'i Faith, the primary source of meaning in life are the words of Baha'u'llah (meaning The Glory of God in Arabic). Baha'u'llah (1817-1892) is the Founder of the Baha'i Faith and his writings are considered to be the revealed Word of God by Baha'is. These writings, totaling some one hundred volumes range from mysticism to laws, from theology to social commentary. You've heard the term "People of the Book." Baha'is are People of the Books.

Some key works include the Kitab-i-Iqan (the Book of Certitude) which explains the oneness of religion, the Kitab-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book) which contains Baha'i laws, and the Hidden Words, a collection of aphorisms similar to the Psalms. Recitation, study and meditation on Baha'u'llah's writings is a twice daily obligation of Baha'is. Baha'u'llah encouraged his followers to: "Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths."

So important is the practice of reading the writings that he prescribed the promotion of literacy as a religious obligation of parents and the wider community. Literacy is extremely important in a religion that has no clergy and emphasizes the independent search for truth. Baha’u’llah explains that daily immersion in the Word of God has profound spiritual effects:

“Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul.”

I once felt far from God and trapped in impenetrable darkness and agony. I became spiritually isolated and could not even pray. I literally groped for something in the writings of Baha'u'llah to save me. What I found was this: "Put your whole trust and confidence in God who hath created you and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succor cometh from Him alone. He succoreth whomsoever He will with the hosts of the heavens and of the earth."

I would weep my way through reciting this verse. I would carry it with me where ever I went. I even posted it in large letters on the ceiling of my bedroom so it would be the first thing I would see when I woke each morning. I continued this for several weeks and slowly, painfully, a flicker of faith turned into flame. I had been baptized in the ocean of Baha’u’llah’s Words and born again. This experience confirmed my faith in the creative power of his writings.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia, taken by "Wiki" and considered in the public domain

BEST OF 2011

As Baha'i Thought celebrates it's seventh year (you heard that right folks), I wanted to continue the long standing tradition of ending the Gregorian Year with what I consider the nine best pieces from 2011. Here it goes in no particular order:

1. Save Money. Work for Peace.

2. The Soul of Unemployment

3. The Paradox of Politics

4. Left Behind

5. Beyond Post-Racialism

6. What to a Felon is the Fourth of July?

7. Out of Deep Love

8. Truth, Reconciliation and Occupation

9. Money Cannot Be Eaten

Gene Marks Is Right

Article first published as Gene Marks Is Right on Blogcritics.

Once again, someone has picked up their keyboard and whacked the hornet's nest of contemporary racial discourse in America. This time it was a self-described "short, balding and mediocre certified public accountant", named Gene Marks, writing for Forbes magazine. Marks used the occasion of President Obama's recent speech about inequality to engage in a thought experiment entitled, "If I Were a Poor Black Kid". This experiment yields the following breakthrough insight into escaping poverty:

"It takes brains. It takes hard work. It takes a little luck. And a little help from others. It takes the ability and the know-how to use the resources that are available."

Needless to say, this essay prompted some critical responses. Root.com has a nice round-up of some of them. Ranging from profound to funny, they capture the general critique of essays like "If I Were a Poor Black Kid", namely that they fail to take into account the history of racial oppression, contemporary structural inequities and white privilege.

However, I believe that there is truth worth considering in this essay. Changing the woeful conditions under which too many inner-city, poor, black youth live does require intelligence, intense striving, seizing opportunities offered by chance, assistance from others and creatively using available resources. Marks is absolutely right in that regard. What he fails to recognize is that it is the exercise of these virtues in dismantling structural racism that will make the most lasting and meaningful change in the lives of these youth. In this regard it's all of us who need to be smarter and worker harder not just poor, black kids. Personal responsibility and social responsibility must go hand in hand if we are to achieve true prosperity for all Americans.

My point is not to minimize the central role that poor, black youth, and poor folks generally have to play in changing their lives. As a Baha'i I believe that God expects no less from the poor, black kid than the middle-class, middle-aged white guy. I believe that we are more than the social conditions we find ourselves in by chance, choice, or policy. My point is that justice demands that each of us examine how our choices impact the quality our lives and the lives of our neighbors. This can protect us from the self-righteousness and self-delusion that too often poison the possibilities for change. As 'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), Head of the Baha'i Faith from 1892-1921 wrote:

"For this reason must all human beings powerfully sustain one another and seek for everlasting life...Let them purify their sight and behold all humankind as leaves and blossoms and fruits of the tree of being. Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help. Let them see no one as their enemy, or as wishing them ill, but think of all humankind as their friends; regarding the alien as an intimate, the stranger as a companion, staying free of prejudice, drawing no lines."

Image courtesy of Wikimedia, property of the U.S. Government and considered in the public domain.

Money Cannot Be Eaten

Article first published as Money Cannot Be Eaten on Blogcritics.

As the last of the Occupy encampments are swept away across the nation, few can fail to recognize that whatever the future of this movement, its activists have successfully "occupied" public discourse. Some see President Obama's recent speech in Kansas as an indication of this success. The speech, which focused largely on the theme of economic inequality, nicely captured the essence of the "American Dream," which for so many has become a dream deferred.

"If you gave it your all, you’d take enough home to raise your family, send your kids to school, have your health care covered, and put a little away for retirement."

Heather Boushey of the Center for American Progress describes how the problem of economic inequality existed long before the Great Recession and actually contributed to it. She argues that stagnating incomes resulted in increased borrowing facilitated by an unregulated financial industry flush with cash. This unsustainable dynamic would eventually blow up in the 2008 financial crisis.

While increased discussion of economic inequality and the importance of reducing poverty and strengthening the middle class are encouraging, analysis of the influence of materialistic values on this crisis remains largely on the margins. A short film called, The High Price of Materialism, produced by the Center for a New American Dream, offers a corrective. In highly accessible language and informed by social science, the film describes the negative psychological and social consequences when materialistic values become dominant in our lives. It's an excellent companion to, The Story of Stuff, which discusses the dynamics of consumerism and the system that supports it. These short, yet profound films suggest that Americans need to dream much bigger.

Moving the critique of materialism from the margin to the center of discourse about a new economy is a contribution that religious leadership and communities of faith can and should make. This will require more than denunciations of Wall Street, its political enablers, or the so-called one percent. We need to begin to recognize the ideology of materialism and its institutional manifestations as being just as oppressive as the other "isms" humanity has been struggling to free itself from. 'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), Head of the Baha'i Faith from 1892 to 1921 framed the challenge in these terms:

All the Prophets have come to promote divine bestowals, to found the spiritual civilization and teach the principles of morality. Therefore, we must strive with all our powers so that spiritual influences may gain the victory. For material forces have attacked mankind. The world of humanity is submerged in a sea of materialism.

Such a process should not be confused with asceticism or denial of the material realities of life in the 21st century. What is required is learning how to harmonize the spiritual and material dimensions of civilization so that both progress in a sustainable, just, and unified fashion conducive to real prosperity. Otherwise, our children's children may live to see fulfillment of that grim prophecy of an indigenous people whom, like so many others, clearly saw the inevitable consequences of soul-less consumption:

Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.

Cree Prophecy

Image courtesy of Wikimedia, taken by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and considered in the public domain

A Politics of Possibility

Article first published as A Study in Possibility on Blogcritics.

It's a holiday season crowded with crises. An entire continent slouches towards financial free fall, austerity emerges as a new normal in nation after nation, an angry and divided region continues to simmer, and our planet marches steadily toward climate catastrophe. Meanwhile, many of our political leaders appear to prefer playing musical chairs on the deck of the Titanic to actually solving our problems.

The numerous challenges facing the human race in the early days of the 21st century demand spiritual and moral leadership. This is leadership distinguished by vision that transcends the next election or news cycle, commitment to principle that transcends partisan preoccupations, and a deep love that transcends the limitations of socially constructed identities. Most of all, it is leadership animated by a profound appreciation of the unique possibilities presented by the times we are living in. In his political treatise "The Secret of Divine Civilization", 'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), Head of the Baha'i Faith from 1892-1921 commented:

A few, unaware of the power latent in human endeavor, consider this matter as highly impracticable, nay even beyond the scope of man's utmost efforts. Such is not the case, however...Endeavor, ceaseless endeavor, is required. Nothing short of an indomitable determination can possibly achieve it. Many a cause which past ages have regarded as purely visionary, yet in this day has become most easy and practicable.

Many of us recently celebrated the life of Steve Jobs. His vision turned what only a generation ago would have been considered science fiction, into a new world that literally fits in the palm of your hand. If human beings can achieve things like that, why not a sane and sustainable financial system, or life-sustaining harmony with the natural world, or a free, united and just Middle East?

If we want the spiritual and moral leadership we need to achieve such things, we have to come to grips with the deficit of faith that contributes to its absence in our political life. This is a deficit of faith in ourselves and each other rooted in an impoverished view of human nature. The Universal House of Justice, the International Governing Council of the Baha'i Faith explained it this way:

Indeed, so much have aggression and conflict come to characterize our social, economic and religious systems, that many have succumbed to the view that such behaviour is intrinsic to human nature and therefore ineradicable. With the entrenchment of this view, a paralyzing contradiction has developed in human affairs. On the one hand, people of all nations proclaim not only their readiness but their longing for peace and harmony, for an end to the harrowing apprehensions tormenting their daily lives. On the other, uncritical assent is given to the proposition that human beings are incorrigibly selfish and aggressive and thus incapable of erecting a social system at once progressive and peaceful, dynamic and harmonious, a system giving free play to individual creativity and initiative but based on co-operation and reciprocity.

The necessary spiritual and moral leadership will emerge as our political culture evolves and transforms. Such a change in culture will require a change in consciousness, an appreciation of the possibilities of this age and of human capacity to fulfill those possibilities.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, taken by NASA and considered in the public domain