Integrate, Disintegrate.
I was reading BBC News this morning-- something of a morning ritual/obsession now as I am always eager to read up on what's happening with the US elections and other political stories lining (i'd like to say besmirching) the cyberwaves.
So, as I was on the BBC's "Americas" page, this other story caught my eye: 'Car sleepers' the new US homeless. It's just stunning how quickly the situation in the US and the entire world is changing. It's alarming in a way.
I'm going to steal the blurb my editor penned in the about section of Bahai Perspectives because it's so concise and well-written, and I definitely struggle with brevity.. So, what's going in the world today?
My dear friend Ryann--as an aside, I just need to take a second to say how absolutely proud I am of all my college girlfriends who are so actively involved with and interested in championing human rights in some way or another. I love getting their emails outlining their career goals and even extracurricular activities, and I'm so excited to be friends with such selfless and capable people. Okay, on with it-- sent me this email about various interesting topics, and one of the things she spoke of was what an important time this is for the world, and how we're really on the brink of something huge as a civilization. There was mention of the increasingly high CO2 levels in the air which will pose MAJOR threats to our survival as a population, and other imminent dangers as well, and she also spoke of the tremendous opportunity before us to drastically change and improve the mess we are currently in. And she said "that's so cool." I loved her positive outlook, and I couldn't agree more. So Ryann, smart lady that she is, is going to learn all about sustainable development, which I think is genius and a good field for many of us to pursue.
I'm in the field of education and I am especially enamoured of social discourse in education, so I've been thinking about ways in which I can integrate that more into high school curriculum, and whether I want to do this merely in my own classroom, or if I want to work more closely with curriculum design in general and try to work towards its promotion on a larger scale...honestly, I don't know yet. I'll definitely do the classroom thing first, and then maybe expand.
It's exciting to think about all the possibilities that lie ahead and that even though reading articles like the above one make me nauseous, we're not helpless. I'm not helpless. And it's our responsibility, those of us who haven't yet been forced to move into our cars and lose everything we've known and worked for, to NOT be helpless. And more than that, to not be idle.
But, there is so much work to be done and so many crises just kind of looming that sometimes it's hard not to take a fatalistic approach. So I'm glad for friends like Ryann who remind me of the task at hand, and editors like Nadim who write it so well, and the teachings of Baha'u'llah which fill me with hope.
Gotta have hope.
So, as I was on the BBC's "Americas" page, this other story caught my eye: 'Car sleepers' the new US homeless. It's just stunning how quickly the situation in the US and the entire world is changing. It's alarming in a way.
I'm going to steal the blurb my editor penned in the about section of Bahai Perspectives because it's so concise and well-written, and I definitely struggle with brevity.. So, what's going in the world today?
There are two simultaneous processes in the world today…
One… Disintegration. The rise in depression, drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide, the breaking down of family structures, moral decay, the ever-widening wealth gap and worldwide economic instability, the rise in fanaticism and terrorism, the growing atomic threat, the glaring inability of existing institutions to minister to the needs of a continually evolving humanity, the despairing sense of aimlessness confronting people worldwide.
Two… Integration. The growing acceptance that discriminating against people along gender, racial or ethnic lines is unacceptable, the first signs of more inclusive political and economic blocs, the rise in literacy rates worldwide, the intermingling of ideas and cultures brought about by greater migration and advances in information technology, and finally, the initiatives of Baha’is and their friends in promoting systematic change at the grassroots level, through activities such as:
practically-oriented study courses,
moral and spiritual education classes for children,
junior youth empowerment programmes,
interfaith devotionals, etc.
As individuals we have a choice of direction; either to shrug our shoulders, sit back and let ourselves be swept away by the painful forces of disintegration, or to fight on the side of integration, towards the step-by-step construction of a more just, equitable and peaceful civilization.
My dear friend Ryann--as an aside, I just need to take a second to say how absolutely proud I am of all my college girlfriends who are so actively involved with and interested in championing human rights in some way or another. I love getting their emails outlining their career goals and even extracurricular activities, and I'm so excited to be friends with such selfless and capable people. Okay, on with it-- sent me this email about various interesting topics, and one of the things she spoke of was what an important time this is for the world, and how we're really on the brink of something huge as a civilization. There was mention of the increasingly high CO2 levels in the air which will pose MAJOR threats to our survival as a population, and other imminent dangers as well, and she also spoke of the tremendous opportunity before us to drastically change and improve the mess we are currently in. And she said "that's so cool." I loved her positive outlook, and I couldn't agree more. So Ryann, smart lady that she is, is going to learn all about sustainable development, which I think is genius and a good field for many of us to pursue.
I'm in the field of education and I am especially enamoured of social discourse in education, so I've been thinking about ways in which I can integrate that more into high school curriculum, and whether I want to do this merely in my own classroom, or if I want to work more closely with curriculum design in general and try to work towards its promotion on a larger scale...honestly, I don't know yet. I'll definitely do the classroom thing first, and then maybe expand.
It's exciting to think about all the possibilities that lie ahead and that even though reading articles like the above one make me nauseous, we're not helpless. I'm not helpless. And it's our responsibility, those of us who haven't yet been forced to move into our cars and lose everything we've known and worked for, to NOT be helpless. And more than that, to not be idle.
But, there is so much work to be done and so many crises just kind of looming that sometimes it's hard not to take a fatalistic approach. So I'm glad for friends like Ryann who remind me of the task at hand, and editors like Nadim who write it so well, and the teachings of Baha'u'llah which fill me with hope.
Gotta have hope.
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