Criticism is unacceptable. There is something wrong with whomever is the critic. There can be nothing wrong with whatever is the object of the criticism.

So much for intellectual curiosity and independent investigation if it takes you to a divergent conclusion…

1) inadequate because: bahai administration does not appear to have provided any initial leadership in this activity, abd

2) it is unclear exactly what “partisan” means. for instance in the usa, there is

2a) confusion amongst the “mean green meme” people on the left who have misplaced attitudes about pluralism, and

2b) the usual opportunists and scallawags on the right that use the crisis in iran to beat their absurd nationalist/militarist drums.

why can't the bwc simply and clearly state what kind of “partisan political” problems they are referring to?

this is confusing to anyone with even a minor understanding of the history of human rights. gandhi, martin luther king, jr, nelson mandela, and many other famous civil rights leaders confronted evil government policies, why are bahais so convinced that their cowardice is somehow virtuous?

Criticism is unacceptable. There is something wrong with whomever is the critic. There can be nothing wrong with whatever is the object of the criticism.

So much for intellectual curiosity and independent investigation if it takes you to a divergent conclusion…

1) inadequate because: bahai administration does not appear to have provided any initial leadership in this activity, abd

2) it is unclear exactly what “partisan” means. for instance in the usa, there is

2a) confusion amongst the “mean green meme” people on the left who have misplaced attitudes about pluralism, and

2b) the usual opportunists and scallawags on the right that use the crisis in iran to beat their absurd nationalist/militarist drums.

why can't the bwc simply and clearly state what kind of “partisan political” problems they are referring to?

this is confusing to anyone with even a minor understanding of the history of human rights. gandhi, martin luther king, jr, nelson mandela, and many other famous civil rights leaders confronted evil government policies, why are bahais so convinced that their cowardice is somehow virtuous?

July 22, 2009

To the American Bahá’í community,

Dearly loved Friends,

A Global Day of Action has been organized (see http://united4iran.org for more information) and will be observed on July 25, 2009 in defense of the human rights of all Iranians. The Bahá’í International Community has issued a brief statement of support on the home page of the Bahá’í World News Service (http://news.bahai.org).

The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to share with you the following further guidance just received from the Universal House of Justice should you be considering participating in an event in your city:

As you are aware, Baha'is do not engage in partisan political activities. In this respect, in a message to the believers in Iran dated 31 October 2008, the House of Justice elaborated on the implications of this fundamental principle of the Faith as follows:

You should take every opportunity to explain to your fellow citizens the fundamental principle of the Faith that strictly prohibits involvement in partisan political activity of any kind, whether local, national or international. Baha'is view government as a system for maintaining the welfare and orderly progress of human society, and obedience to the laws of the land is a distinguishing feature of their beliefs. Iran is dear to the Baha'is, who are the well-wishers of all. In whatever country they reside, including the birthplace of Baha'u'llah, they strive to promote the welfare of society. They are enjoined to work alongside their compatriots in fostering fellowship and unity and in establishing peace and justice. They seek to uphold their own rights, as well as the rights of others, through whatever legal means are available to them, conducting themselves at all times with honesty and integrity. They eschew conflict and dissension. They avoid contest for worldly power. Neither do they aspire to overthrow governments, nor do they participate in the schemings of others to do so. The record of the past one hundred and sixty years bears witness to this assertion.

The organizers of the Global Day of Action have explicitly asserted that this undertaking is non-partisan in nature and that its aim is to call upon the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold internationally recognized human rights and the related guarantees that are enshrined in the country's Constitution. Accordingly, Baha'is may generally feel free to lend their support to this event by participating in it as individuals. Should they be invited to sign related petitions, they may also do so, provided the wording is non-partisan in character. Indeed, initiatives such as this afford a welcome opportunity for Baha'is to demonstrate their willingness to engage with like-minded organizations and individuals in defending the human rights of all who suffer oppression and in championing the cause of justice.

Believers who choose to participate in this and other such demonstrations should, however, be sensitive to the fact that in certain countries and in particular situations the event could assume a partisan political character, notwithstanding the original intent of the organizers. In such a circumstance, believers would of course not participate or, if the event assumes such a character after it has begun, should tactfully withdraw.

We trust that all who choose to participate in these events will keep in mind the attributes we are exhorted to exemplify in our daily life, including wisdom, dignity, moderation, non-partisanship and loving concern for the welfare and rights of all. It is important to bear in mind, as well, that these events have been organized for all who suffer in Iran, and it would not be appropriate for an individual Bahá’í who does participate to be seen as trying to use the occasion to unduly promote the interests of the Bahá’ís.

Should you have any further questions that arise in relation to participation in events in your city, we ask that you turn to your Local Spiritual Assembly and follow its guidance. Local Spiritual Assemblies may in turn seek guidance from our Office of External Affairs.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Kenneth E. Bowers
Secretary-General

the value of the bahai rants blog? it brings the ugly, dark stuff about bahai into the light of day. it exposes the deception and lies that pervade bahai culture. it makes fun of the false utopias bahais use to convert people.

enlightenment is this age is about integrating transcendence (spirituality, mysticism) with rationalism-science-technology (transrationalism / transpartisanism).

enlightenment in this age is holistic, and it matches the complexity of the conditions of the world.

enlightenment in this age is not about turning back to primitive constructions (“partial truths”) of transcendence/spirit, with associated outmoded metaphysical constructs. (such as prophetology.)

enlightenment in this age is about throwing a monkey-wrench into the backward, fundamentalist, paradigm regressive public relations machine that bahai administration has set up to disseminate LIES and DECEPTION so that a power hungry, incompetent elite can maintain power.

excerpts:
| Clare Graves
|
| “Summary Statement: The Emergent, Cyclical, Double-Helix Model of the
| Adult Human Biopsychosocial Systems,” presented Boston, May 20, 1981
|
| Briefly, what I am proposing is that the psychology of the mature human
| being is an unfolding, emergent, oscillating spiraling process marked by
| progressive subordination of older, lower-order behavior systems to
| newer, higher-order systems as an individual's existential problems
| change. Each successive stage, wave, or level of existence is a state
| through which people pass on their way to other states of being. When
| the human is centralized in one state of existence, he or she has a
| psychology which is particular to that state. His or her feelings,
| motivations, ethics and values, biochemistry, degree of neurological
| activation, learning system, belief systems, conception of mental
| health, ideas as to what mental illness is and how it should be treated,
| conceptions of and preferences for management, education, economics,
| and political theory and practice are all appropriate to that state.

http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j22/beck….

| In light of these new glimpses from a higher perspective, I now realized I
| really had been at odds with myself. My GREEN eco-consciousness was
| always in conflict with my ORANGE materialism. My RED independence
| was in opposition to my GREEN need for acceptance and communality,
| and the “Mean Green Meme” was hell-bent on pitting itself against
| Second Tier, luring me with its righteous idealism and narcissistic
| demands so I wouldn't have to meet the evolutionary challenge to trust,
| let go of fear, and actually transform.
|
| Now, getting back to enlightenment, well, as we've been
| finding, “Everybody wants to get enlightened but nobody wants to
| change.” But, to be honest, I didn't think that applied to me. I mean, I
| was spiritual. I was serious. I had made sacrifices. But somewhere deep
| down, evolution was evolving my perspective and I realized: Clare
| Graves was right, the leap to Second Tier is “momentous,” because it's
| pointing to nothing less than the difference between inner conflict and
| profound inner resolution between all the parts of myself, all the
| memes. As Don Beck pointed out, it is the dropping away of fear. And
| that's no small thing. It means being completely at home in the
| universe.
|
| And in that shift in perspective, I discovered more: the whole spiral is
| necessary. It's what got me to where I am today, and to the iota of
| humility required to recognize that I really am part of the “never-ending
| upward quest” that Don Beck describes. And this is only the beginning.
| Because freedom from fear and irresolution means freedom to stand in
| awe of this miraculous, ever-ascending spiral of human emergence. And
| freedom to stand in awe of the cosmic order that creates it. As depths of
| insight and vast realms of consciousness glint from the upper reaches of
| the spiral, the real possibilities begin.

http://www.formlessmountain.com/aqal.htm

http://multiplex.integralinstitute.org/Public/c…

excerpt:
| Ken Wilber who coined the phrase “mean green” (closely related
| to “boomeritis”), here's some discussion on it from his book, A Theory
| of Everything:
|
| The point is simply that the very high developmental stance of green
| pluralism–the product of at least six major stages of hierarchical
| transformation–turns around and denies all hierarchies, denies the
| very path that produced its own noble stance. It consequently extends
| an egalitarian embrace to every stance, no matter how shallow or
| narcissistic. The more egalitarianism is implemented, the more it
| invites, indeed encourages, the Culture of Narcissism. The the Culture
| of Narcissism is the antithesis of the integral culture.
|
| (We saw that narcissism, at its core, is a demand that “Nobody tells me
| what to do!” Narcissism will therefore not acknowledge anything
| universal, because that places various demands and duties on
| narcissism that it will strenuously try to deconstruct, because “nobody
| tells me what to do.” This egocentric stance can easily be propped up
| and supported with the tenets of pluralistic relativism.).
|
| In short, the rather high developmental wave of pluralism becomes a
| supermagnet for the rather low state of emotional narcissism. …
|
| In other words, the very high developmental meme of pluralism becomes
| a shelter and a haven for a reactivation of some of the lower and intensely
| egocentric memes (e.g., purple and red) In green's noble attempt to move
| beyond conformist rules (many of which are indeed unfair and
| marginalizing), and in its genuine desire to deconstruct a rigid rationality
| (much of which can be rigid and stultifying)–in short, in green's
| admirable attempt to go postconventional–it has often inadvertedly
| embraced anything nonconventional, and this includes much that is
| frankly preconventional, regressive, and narcissitic.
|
| …. A typical result is that the sensitive self, honestly trying to help,
| excitedly exaggerates its own significance. It will possess the new
| paradigm, which heralds the greatest transformation in the history of
| the world; it will completely revolutionize society as we know it; it will
| revision everything that came before it; it will save the planet and save
| Gaia and save the Goddess; it will be the most extraordinary…

So, the question is: does bahai theology/scripture contain the memetic-code needed to create the necessary building blocks of consciousness to enable people to HEALTHILY navigate through the changes in consciousness that occur in postmodern culture?

The ANSWER IS – NO!

There has been a near-complete failure at all levels in bahai (cultural, administrative, scholarship-research, activism) to address the current “problems of existence” at the leading edge of social evolution.

In short: bahai is mostly bullsh*t.

adios muchachito!

bahais should have done what Gandhi/Mandela did: protest, get beat up, and thus inspire millions to support social justice.

http://www.encounter.co.za/article/112.html

the basic reality is that bahais did the cowardly thing in s. africa, they hid in the shadows, just as the iranian bahais had been doing for a long time. they never really believed they could master their universe.

Here is one big difference: Gandhi was “political”, he fully embraced the idea of national liberation movements and independence from colonial/imperial power.

at the same time, bahais were dreaming of creating a new imperial system (based on a bahai “one truth above all things” anti-pattern), thus, were not simpatico with liberation politics.

my ancestors fought against slavery, and against fascism, and I grew up around people that fought for civil rights and the environment. there is nothing about the future bahai global emperial-totalitarian system (based on the current trajectory of fundamentalism/literalism) that has any appeal to me. it does not represent the next step forward in the advancement of civilization, world peace, or any of that. on the contrary.

the very 1800s babis/bahais that are considered “heros” and “martyrs” would see the current bahai community as a bunch of cowards.

“it really is that simple” sometimes.