Here is a video in which Mr. William E. Davis, the Chairman of the NSA of the US discusses the recent US national convention.

Of course, as all good Baha’is you should watch and listen raptly to every word and syllable. But pay close attention to the video at the 1:24 minute mark where Davis mentions:

There’s no community on earth like that, no-one’s even close. We have more to do, we recognise that. But we will get there through encouragement, not judgement. We will get there by seeing the positives, not the negatives. We will get there by motivating people through example and by love, not by condemning or labelling. The friends respond to love.

And also pay particular attention also to the 5:00 minute mark where these remarks are found:

I’ve been asked to make some comments about the convention. They perhaps are self-evident, but I am obedient to the National Spiritual Assembly. This has been a qualitatively unique and different convention. For some of us, who have been coming — in this case, he who speaks — 25 years as a delegate. It’s been a remarkable convention. Some of us will recall conventions where Hands of the Cause, Mr Sears or Mr Khadem may have spoken and raised our hearts and gave us a new vision and got us out of our chairs, and some of us issued forth and went to the four corners of the world.

(Sigh) you know, its speeches like this that warm our hearts at Baha’i Rants and give us the energy needed to complete the full Ruhi course for the 38th time.

But, some cynical person amongst you might say, wait! this is just paying lip service to an ideal, where are the deeds?

For the enlightenment of those jaundiced minds I point out the recent letter of the NSA, which was sent to Kalimat and subsequently to all Baha’is in the US. Yes, the same one where they succinctly outline the NSA’s boycott of that publisher. Why, just read that letter ! It is simply gushing with love. A rainbow of pure love practically jumps out from the page and down your throat – atleast that’s what one especially devoted believer in Iowa reported.

As for the lofty adjectives Davis uses to describe the convention (‘qualitatively unique’, ‘different’, and ‘remarkable’) I assure you that they are all well deserved and most appropriate.

For you see, it was in this same convention that the chairperson quickly but oh, so lovingly, cut off the person who had the temerity to suggest discussion on the Kalimat boycott and he lovingly, oh, so lovingy, made the decisive move to shut down any and all similar attempts to consult on this issue.

So you see, dear cynical reader, this convention was truly ‘unique’ and ‘different’ and yes, even ‘remarkable’ for until the delegates had experienced this convention, they had the mistaken belief that the national convention is a place where Baha’is can consult on matters of national import and deliberate upon them by availing themselves of loving and frank Baha’i consultation.

We truly owe a debt of gratitude to the NSA for finally putting this myth to rest. I say this calls for taking the full Ruhi courses 39 times. Who’s with me?