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An unfortunate hallmark of recent decades
has been a worldwide rise in ethnic and religious violence,
conflict and war. Ranging from tribal conflicts in Africa, to
the religious hostilities of the Balkan area, from racism and
discrimination in the Western world to acts of international
terror committed on an unprecedented scale, our communities
have been repeatedly torn apart and the lives of our children
and families ravaged by tragic and horrifying acts of malice.
Underlying these hostilities is the fundamental fact that on
the level of the individual, man does not practice tolerance
of diversity nor seek to  understand
and live with his neighbor. Far too often he deals with his
fellows as stereotypes or objects of unreasoning hatred. The
Way to Happiness undercuts this and helps a person see his
neighbor as another human being, worthy of respect and decent
treatment as a unique individual.
In response to this need—and to succor communities ravaged
by such violence—The Way To Happiness International organizes,
prints and gets distributed hundreds of thousands of copies
of the booklet. For example, tens of thousands of copies were
distributed in New York City immediately following the terrorist
disaster of September 11; more than 1,000,000 copies were distributed
in Los Angeles to assist the healing of the community after
the riots of 1992; and thousands of booklets were distributed
in communities such as Littleton, Colorado after traumatic events
such as schoolroom shootings. Widespread use of the booklet
has followed dislocations and upsets due to natural disasters
such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
Outside of the United States, The Way To Happiness International
has arranged similar distribution programs in response to regional
problems. In 1993 some 800,000 copies of the booklet were distributed
in South Africa to ease the turbulent governmental transition
at the end of the apartheid era. International observers had
anticipated that the elections would be marked by violence and,
indeed, it was the continued small outbreaks of inter-tribal
violence which led The Way To Happiness International to undertake
the distribution action. Yet once the booklets were out and
the election held, to great international relief there was no
violence to mar the turnover of power to President Nelson Mandela.
While no one claims The Way to Happiness was the sole
reason for this peace, it is undeniable that it was a factor
and that this was precisely the product which the distribution
sought to achieve. In other situations of conflict and hostility
the booklet has been distributed to help people achieve a better
life. In the late 1980s approximately 2,000,000 copies were
distributed in Colombia to assuage the rampant violence in that
country. Police were trained on the principles in the booklet
and distributed it directly to the communities that they served.
In 1994, 100,000 copies of the booklet were distributed in Israel
following the assassination  of
President Rabin; and major distributions in Hebrew and Arabic
are being carried out to both sides in the current Palestinian/Israeli
conflict.
In the face of the conflict which kept the Balkans in turmoil
and war throughout the early and mid-1990s, The Way To Happiness
International supported the distribution of more than 300,000
copies of the booklet. The responses were consistently favorable,
with recognition that the principles in the booklet provide
a way out of the centuries-old conflict.
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“I want to give
my sincere thanks for the seminars given to the  180
police officers covering the 21 precepts of ethics and
morals from The Way to Happiness book. These seminars
have given us a good lesson and an understanding of the
importance of being a police officer—which means
setting a good example for the community and society.”
Commander of the Metropolitan Police, Bogota, Colombia
“I am a Vietnam veteran. In Overtown, a predominantly
 black,
lower income area of Miami with a high crime rate, we
had many teenagers hanging out on the street corners,
and one large housing project where the police were a
regular feature, every day. When I sat in on a few The
Way to Happiness Club meetings, I knew that The Way
to Happiness could help my community, so I took some
to pass out to the teenagers and to the entire housing
project.
“After I had handed out more than one thousand booklets,
I noticed some positive changes, like the police were
not coming around every day and I didn’t see the
teenagers hanging out on the street corner like they used
to. Then, last week, the Miami Herald had this headline:
OVERTOWN CRIME RATE DOWN — ECONOMY UP.”
R.G.
“Your interest and care for the welfare of the
taxi drivers and their passengers  is
very much appreciated. We see The Way to Happiness
as a solution to the violence that is currently on-going
in our industry. After reading the book we realised that
this is the exact tool we need to give the taxi drivers
a commonsense guide to a safer existence for themselves
and their passengers. As this booklet is non-religious
and non-political it is acceptable by all our drivers.”
Temba Mgabhi
National African Taxi Drivers Association, South Africa |
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