This is a photo for everyone who thinks that humanity doesn't stand a chance. That the possibility of true global cooperation and unity is a lost cause, an impossible ideal, a utopian fantasy.
This is a photo of members of almost every nation and territory on the planet, standing together in love and unity. They come from all cultures, from all religious backgrounds, from all economic circumstances. There are men and women, they are young and old, wealthy and poor, black and white. And they are all standing together, united in a common vision of building a peaceful world together: starting in their own local community first.
This is a photo of a unique and revolutionary electoral process. It is the Bahá'í International Convention, where more than 1300 representatives from over 166 nations on earth, unite to elect the international governing body of the Bahá'ís of the world. There is no electioneering, no posturing, no competition: for those who are elected have no individual power, status, wealth or authority. Their only mandate is the service of humanity.
The representatives from the countries which have the highest GDP or the biggest population or the greatest military might have no more power or influence than those representing the most impoverished nations on the planet. They stand together, equal.
There is no other gathering like this on the planet.
This is a photo that brings me hope. The hope, and the promise, of a day where the whole earth will indeed be united in the recognition of the oneness of humanity and the understanding that we all share one common homeland.
This photo is proof that the recognition of our essential oneness has the power to break down the barriers of religious, racial and class prejudice in every corner of the planet...barriers that have long prevented people from working together for the common good.
There is no ‘them’. There is only ‘us’.
