America’s favorite pastime has customarily been related to baseball’s spring season. Scooping it by far through the years, however has become one that affects not only sports fans but most Americans across the board—from individuals to organizations, to corporations and institutions; local, state, national and international–the habit of ego-tripping!
This seemingly harmless folly, compounded many times over in every conceivable segment of our egotistical American society, has become increasingly contagious, trickling down through recent generations. Its result begets multiplicity as opposed to unity–a product becoming evident only in times of disaster, returning to the abnormal once the disaster subsides.
Of grave danger here is that this societal malignancy, as with most faults, is more obvious in others than within ourselves. Subsequently our reformation efforts and energies are usually misspent first on changing the obvious—others (over whom we have no control) while failing to even acknowledge any fault within ourselves—whose attitudes and behavior are the only ones we could possibly alter. Once admitting our inability to effect change in others our wisest alternative would be to work on our attitude toward whatever situation we cannot change that affects us.
Remember the immortal Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: “God grant me the Serenity to accept things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and Wisdom to know the difference.” (Somehow from childhood I seemed to have had more than my share of courage; but the serenity and wisdom I’m still working on.)
I’ve heard it said that the mind cannot fathom what a Paradise this world would be if we were not so obsessed with who gets credit for what. The magnitude of this would be staggering in the politics of science, medicine and technology. One cannot imagine how many great ideas are suppressed or life-altering/lifesaving drugs, fuel and energy saving technology or other scientific discoveries may be withheld because the wrong ones may get credit and/or control. How many the individuals, entities and conglomerates that have become rich from numerous lifesaving or life altering drugs…and the beat goes on—and on.
We teach by example! The fundamental teachings at this new maturity of mankind are the oneness of God, the oneness of mankind and the oneness of religion, impossible to perceive even today and certainly not in previous eras when science and technology were in their infancy. “When everyone learns the three Onenesses we’ll have world unity,” declares one children’s song.
All Heavenly Books, the Bible, the Qur’an and other Holy Writings, have been given by One God as guides along the paths of divine virtue, love, justice and peace, applicable to the exigencies of that era–each thousands of years apart. All other Messengers taught through the Word of God. In this new era “The essence of faith is fewness of words and the abundance of deeds…This is the bond that unifies across all barriers and it is impossible to unify unless unified.
America’s primary pastime should then become whatever promotes World Peace! —Which, according to Baha’i prediction, “…is not only possible but inevitable! The choice of heads of nations (at one time) was whether it comes through an act of consultative will or through unimaginable catastrophes. (World Peace Statement of 1985)
As we approach our nation’s major religious holiday season may we give more serious consideration to our motivation than to our individual acts, and to those activities and attitudes that demonstrate dignity, fast becoming a lost art. May we demonstrate more by deeds than by words and place example before ego. May we as men and nations become distinguished not by our personal, corporate or national military might but by examples of servitude, trustworthiness, faithfulness and honesty, for respect of differences in others and for loving kindness, first to one another within the individual family and ultimately for the family of mankind.
