At this time of world turmoil, the United States Baha'i community
offers a perspective on the destiny of America as the promoter of
world peace.

More than a hundred years ago, Baha'u'llah, the founder of the
Baha'i Faith, addressing heads of state, proclaimed that the age
of maturity for the entire human race had come. The unity of
humankind was now to be established as the foundation of the
great peace that would mark the highest stage in humanity1s
spiritual and social evolution.  Revolutionary and world-shaking
changes were therefore inevitable.

The Baha'i writings state:

The world is moving on. Its events are unfolding ominously and
with bewildering rapidity. The whirlwind of its passions is swift
and alarmingly violent. The New World is insensibly drawn into
its vortex.  within and from without. Its governments and peoples
are being gradually enmeshed in the coils of the world1s
recurrent crises and fierce controversies. . . . The world is
contracting into a neighborhood. America, willingly or
unwillingly, must face and grapple with this new situation. For
purposes of national security, let alone any humanitarian motive,
she must assume the obligations imposed by this newly created
neighborhood. Paradoxical as it may seem, her only hope of
extricating herself from the perils gathering around her is to
become entangled in that very web of international association
which the Hand of an inscrutable Providence is weaving.

The American nation, Baha'is believe, will evolve through tests
and trials to become a land of spiritual distinction and
leadership, a champion of justice and unity among all peoples and
nations, and a powerful servant of the cause of everlasting
peace. This is the peace promised by God in the sacred texts of
the world1s religions.

Establishing peace is not simply a matter of signing treaties and
protocols; it is a complex task requiring a new level of
commitment to resolving issues not customarily associated with
the pursuit of peace.

Universal acceptance of the spiritual principle of the oneness of
humankind is essential to any successful attempt to establish
world peace.

Racism, one of the most baneful and persistent evils, is a major
barrier to peace.

The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality of
the sexes, is one of the most important, though less
acknowledged, prerequisites of peace.

The inordinate disparity between rich and poor keeps the world in
a state of instability, preventing the achievement of peace.

Unbridled nationalism, as distinguished from a sane and
legitimate patriotism, must give way to a wider loyalty, to the
love of humanity as a whole.

Religious strife, the cause of innumerable wars and conflicts
throughout history, is a major obstacle to progress. The
challenge facing the world1s religious leaders is to contemplate,
with hearts filled with compassion and the desire for truth, the
plight of humanity, and to ask themselves whether they cannot, in
humility before their God, submerge their theological differences
in a great spirit of mutual forbearance that will enable them to
work together for the advancement of human understanding and
peace.

Baha''s pray, "May this American Democracy be the first nation to
establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be
the first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the
first to unfurl the standard of the Most Great Peace."

During this hour of crisis, we affirm our abiding faith in the
destiny of America. We know that the road to its destiny is long,
thorny and tortuous, but we are confident that America will
emerge from her trials undivided and undefeatable.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States

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