Brent wrote:
The only way I know to respond, to perhaps be of service in your search for
answers, is to share my own personal experience.
Brent, thank you so much for taking the time to write this. Ironically,
while not providing anything I didn't already know, you did provide exactly
the kind of clarity I was seeking.
As a Quaker before becoming a Baha'i, I was very active in war protest
during the '60s and '70s. My own solution in the end was to join the Army
as a combat medic, thus fulfilling my legal obligation while working for
peace within the system. Eventually I left the Quakers because I could no
longer countenance what I came to see as an entirely lukewarm organization.
It was not that I turned my back on Quaker principles, but that in my
perception very few were willing to engage substantively with social
injustice. Similarly, it has been not a matter of turning away from
Baha'u'llah, but from an organization.
When I bring up these issues I find that people nearly always assume that I
want to protest, march, and engage in political activities, but that's not
the case. Like you, I found such activities to be a dry well. Amidst the
events of today, I'm sometimes haunted by Edmund Burke's statement, "All
that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Your comments helped me focus on the correct parts of what I already know.
Thank you.
Dave
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