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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. Bahá’u’lláh’s
statement is: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”
The concept of world citizenship is a direct result of the contraction of
the world into a single neighbourhood through scientific advances and of
the indisputable interdependence of nations. Love of all the world’s
peoples does not exclude love of one’s country. The advantage of the
part in a world society is best served by promoting the advantage of the
whole. Current international activities in various fields which nurture
mutual affection and a sense of solidarity among peoples need greatly to
be increased.
(Letters
of The Universal House of Justice, 1985 Oct,
The
Promise of World Peace, p. 3)
The Shrine of the Báb, Bahá'í World Centre, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel. 
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David S. Ruhe, former member of the Universal House of Justice, died Tuesday, 6 September 2005, near his home in Newburgh, New York, following a stroke in mid-August. He was 91.
Dr. Ruhe became a Bahá'í in Philadelphia in 1941, subsequently serving on numerous Local Spiritual Assemblies and national Bahá'í committees. Elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States in 1959, he served as its secretary from 1963 until 1968, when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. His service on the Bahá'í Faith's supreme governing council here extended for five terms of five years each until 1993.
A medical doctor, Dr. Ruhe was also an accomplished film-maker, painter, and author. Graduating from Temple University School of Medicine in 1941, Dr. Ruhe began his medical career during World War II as a malaria researcher in the United States Public Health Service where he was promoted to the rank of Medical Director.
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