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Bahá’u’lláh on Good Government
We live in a time of increasing distrust between citizens and institutions of government. Ordinary people seek solutions for what they experience as failures of government, yet institutions of governance struggle to genuinely connect with affected populations. What light does Bahá’u’lláh’s thought cast on what constitutes good government? Bahá’u’lláh lived under absolute monarchies. His own experience of government was one of oppression, expressed in unjust and successive imprisonments and exiles. Justice as a dimension of good government is a strong theme of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings. O kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust…. lay not…
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Upgrade Our Social Operating System
“Exiters are leaving outdated systems and creating new ones”. These guys have some interesting ideas. From their website at: http://voiceandexit.com “In this Voice & Exit 2013 talk, V&E co-founder Max Borders sets out his vision for social change. How can people “criticize by creating?” How can human beings flourish? Can we create new communities? Can we upgrade our democratic operating systems (DOS)? Meet co-founder and filmmaker Seth Blaustein as they launch their inaugural event.” Below Max Borders on: upgrade our social operating system.
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Alain Locke on Identity and Human Rights
Of Alain Locke, Martin Luther King Jr. said: “We’re going to let our children know that the only philosophers that lived were not Plato and Aristotle, but W. E. B. Du Bois and Alain Locke came through the universe.” In this article we explore an idea in the work of Alain Locke – the idea that identity and oppression are related to each other. That the pathway to emancipation is through re-imagining our identity. Early on he explored these themes in the introduction he wrote to his 1925 anthology titled “The New Negro“. The tribute above, particularly from Martin Luther King, calls for greater attention to Alain Locke’s philosophy and…
