Archive | August 2015
S.P.Q.R.
Civilizations and Empires have come and gone. You name it: Byzantine, Arabian, Persian, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, British, and today’s modern-day one, arguably spearheaded by the United States.
However, the most prolific, in many ways, is the Roman Civilization.
Spanning approximately 12 centuries, from about 750 years B.C. to over 4 hundred years A.D., it was born as a Kingdom first, then a Republic, then in the twilight of it’s life, an Empire. The Republic period lasted longest, for about 480 years, then the Empire, for about 450, and finally the Kingdom for almost 250. Contributing to military tactics and warfare, architecture, medicine, government, education, economics, and even basic hygiene, city-planning and plumbing, it stands out as a lesson to mankind, for good and evil. For it also contributed profusely to class distinction, slavery, violence, promiscuity, imperialism, etc..
Every civilization has a beginning, a middle or high-point, and an end.
An objective look will show that after the coming of a Prophet, or Manifestation of God, a civilization gets a ”boost”. This is the single most decisive factor, though myriads of minor ones also exist.
Moses’ advent greatly inspired minor Jewish leaders and pundits, who then contributed greatly to a lot of the arts and sciences the Greek civilization became known for. Buddha and Krishna gave a significant boost to the area of Indo-China, Muhammad to the Arabian civilization, Zoroaster to the Persian, and today, Baha’u’llah to the modern-day global civilization. It is not by chance that 23rd May 1844, when the Baha’i Faith was born, marked also one of the greatest advancements in mankind’s scientific and communications’ history: Samuel Morse sending the first telegraph over an experimental line from Washington D.C., to Baltimore. The message, ”What hath God wrought?” was taken from the Book of Numbers, in the Bible,and had been suggested by Annie Ellsworth.
Science and religion, as usual, in harmony, when unabused by the ego of man, and given the impetus of a Manifestation of God.
The Roman civilization was rejuvenated upon the advent of Jesus Christ. About a century after His coming, the Romans progressed shockingly well. But, loss of the spiritual roots that once made them great, led to their eventual decline.
Even Edward Gibbon, himself skeptical to organised religion (incidentally, that’s where he and I part company), and to Christianity, agreed that the loss of spiritual values, was at the root, starting with the seed planted by the first Emperor, Octavianus, upon his forming of the Praetorian Guard, which assassinated at will, plundered, auctioned the Imperial throne, challenged the Senate, and had vicious street battles with Roman Citizens.
Where there once was hard work, slavery existed, and Romans slept in the arenas and amphitheatres to watch the gladiatoral spectacles. Where there once was honour and family, there were orgies, and promiscuity, and lust, and the breakdown of the building-block of the family, which is the bedrock of society.
Where there was city-planning and medicine and engineering (which inspires us and we revive up to this day) there befell wanton battles and executions and destructions.
Not to mention the brutal treatment of the Christian community.
The idea is, we,as humans, are prone to follishly and blindly repeating the same mistakes, as Gibbon suggests in his work, ”The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”.
We are, today, after the boost we have been given by the advent of the Babi and Baha’i Revelations, falling into the same trap as the Romans; celebrities and athletes are the new gladiators, (believe it or not, gladiators in ancient Rome used to also endorse products, just as celebrities and athletes do today), the family unit is being devalued, there is an over-emphasis on sex in society, and unadulterated science and religion are taking a backseat to entertainment, and various outlets for the immediate gratification of the most primal, primitive urges and basic instincts.
While things will get worse before they get better, (and they will!) there is some sense of responsibility to be had, knowing that we can make things better faster, or we can make things better slowly/eventually. I work for the former, as I hope you do.
Let us not repeat the errors of those gone before us. Advancing carefully, and making use of the many blessings we receive is the true mark of gratitude, whilst carelessly rushing in and abusing every freedom as if there is no tomorrow, spells out mischief and potential doom.
An unwise person ventures into an endeavour without the prudence a wiser person would exercise. Hence the saying, ”… fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
Fools have been rushing in for thousands of years. Let us learn from their impetuousness, and exercise the care and foresight of angels.
Great Expectations
There is something to be said about having high expectations be placed upon an individual, whether by others, or by the individual himself.
One glaring trait is the lack of expectations being placed on certain individuals, due to mental and/or physical incapacity, age, poor resources, etc…
However, when a group of individuals are in no way incapacitated, and yet are not held accountable for their thoughts/words/actions, simply by virtue of their biological identity, this is a recipe for long-term dearth of progress.
One such example, is the absence of acountability in a formidable segment of society; women.
Needless to say, we are equal in God’s eyes, in capacity and attainment, and are not to be held back, or discriminated against as a consequence of our race, gender, age, or nationality. This equality is,nevertheless, one of capacity and attainment, (as Abdu’l-Baha states), and not an equality of function. We are different. Equal does NOT mean identical.
One of the greatest enemies in outwardly achieving, and expressing fully this equality is the lowered standards upon womankind as a whol, by society as a whole.
Strangely enough, from the moment a female child is born, until she is a senior citizen, excuses are made on her behalf, as to why she should NOT step up and why it is okay if she fails. This lack of accountability is an enemy to female progress, just as brutally as downright active discrimination is.
If a female toddler trips and falls, she is ”nursed like a princess” for little more than a grazed knee, when she hits puberty, she is not held accountable for being irresponsible due to ”hormones”, should she be going through her menstrual cycle, it is deemed alright, and wrongfully so, for her to act unreasonably since she has ”hormones”, if she gets engaged, and is soon to be a bride, it is her ”prerogative” to be ”crazy” and when she is pregnant, it is also seen as okay due to ..well…”hormones”, and when she hits menopause, she is equally unaccountable for repulsive words and behaviour due to ”hormonal changes”. At every stage, from the cradle to the grave, she is not held accountable, and this kills any chance of proper progress, character building, responsibility, accountability, and true equality. Note that while hormones do have a powerful effect on everyone, they are never to be used as excuses for justification of unruly activity, as we are expected to rise above and go beyond our nature. Same way a man is not allowed violence or infidelity (which also involve hormones) a woman is not allowed the aforementioned either. Alas, lowered standards, and the first sufferers thereof are women themselves.
As Jong said (herself a woman), ”Women are the only exploited group in history to have been idealized into powerlessness.”
IDEALIZED into powerlessness. For a porcelain trophy on the top shelf is practically useless, and cannot take care of itself, let alone another. This is what lowered standards does and is still doing to womankind as a whole.
If the same stringent standards to which most men are held were held to women-get up and dust your pants if you fall, failure is not to be had (even though it might be the easiest, most available and readily accessible option!), even though aggression is MORE rooted in your DNA as a male, still you are to curb it, for ”hormones” or circumstantial issues are never an excuse, etc…- womankind would progress even further than it already has. The same ardour used to reward and praise females, must be applied with punishment: female paedophiles, violent offenders, child-neglecting female parents, all deserve as much retribution as their male counterparts, and this is not the case in general.
Without wishing to pontificate, (believe it or not),keypoint: men would have it no other way. We love these lofty standards to which we are being held, we love being ”thrown to the wolves” from birth to death. This is how growth occurs; through the fire of trials gold is purified. The point here is, this furnace of purification must needs be extended to all branches, all segments of society, especially women, since they are a major segment thereof, and the first educators of humanity.
Inadequate fathers and mothers, and hapless people will be a thing of the past with the proper (moral) education of females, who are the mothers of tomorrow.
There are exceptions, and there are groups of people in every facet of society who are held accountable and those who are not. The same could be said about certain racial minorities, who are ”idealised” into helplessness, or certain age-groups, nationalities, etc..
But, due to the importance of women in society, and due to the fact that they are NOT a minority, it is more important to address the great expectations that can, should and will rest upon them.
Then and only then, when they are held brutally accountable as men are, and like to be, (worthy ones) shall we see true equality manifested.
With great power (and equality) comes great (and equal) responsibility (and accountability)…
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