Please read this letter. It may be one of the most important communications you will ever receive. It is my viewpoint about how you and I as individuals can help prevent war, crime and violence in a world that seems to be filled with ever-present danger. I believe the wrong thing to do is to "do nothing." So I decided to write this letter and to ask you and others like you to help create a worldwide movement, right in your own neighborhood, that can possibly change things for the better.

My name is Barbara Ayash. I am a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. My objective is to help create a safer environment for my children and yours. My concern is for their moral integrity and the integrity of the nation they will soon inherit. They can use your help in this direction, too.

Today we live in a dangerous environment in dangerous times where war seems imminent and even little children protest the idea. If you champion the dignity of mankind and freedom for mankind, then you believe in the basic goodness of mankind. The United States Constitution is based on a belief in mankind, his basic goodness, his right to personal freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

The 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln put it this way: "Democracy must be based not on mere opinion but on moral purpose." This great man led this nation in a war that defended freedom for all people in America, be they white, black, red or yellow, because he believed in the basic goodness of mankind.

A leading black educator, Louis W. Sullivan, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, once stated, "To teach young people that their lives are governed, not by their own actions, but by socio-economic forces or, forces beyond their control is to teach our children negativism, resignation, passivity, and despair. Values [morals] pave the way out of poverty and toward prosperity and fulfillment."

Whether earned or won by war, freedom is not based on enslavement, hatred, dishonesty, mistrust, murder, robbery or other kinds of crime, drug abuse, illiteracy or injustice. If freedom, according to Mr. Lincoln, is based on "moral purpose," then a definition of the term "moral" that anyone can understand is required.

Per Webster's New World Dictionary that definition is: "Moral - adjective: relating to, dealing with, or capable of making the distinction between right and wrong in conduct." Derivative - Mores (noun): folkways that are considered conducive to the welfare of society and so, through general observance, develop the force of law, often becoming part of the formal legal code."

The author of the enclosed booklet defined the term "morals" this way: "There is freedom in knowing what is thought right and what is thought wrong. There is only slavery when nobody knows and the rules are 'off the cuff.' If a moral code were thoroughly reasonable, it could, at the same time be considered thoroughly ethical. But only at this highest level could the two be called the same."

America is the nation that has been nominated by the world to keep the torch of freedom burning. As an American, each of us has some responsibility for ensuring this country delivers the goods. It is not just the job of our loved ones in uniform set to go to war. It is the job of every citizen to take responsibility for some of the things America stands for. If we as a society begin to pull together toward a common moral purpose, we can make a better society for all. We can help ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit a less dangerous world—perhaps even a world based on mutual understanding and freedom for all mankind.

Please click here and accept the opportunity to read The Way To Happiness® booklet online. This little book speaks for itself. It has been published in 40- some languages and over 62 million copies have been given as gifts to others by people just like you and I. Read it! I know you will find it worthy of your review, just as millions of others have.

Why am I asking you to do this? Your survival and that of your family and friends is important to me. Like many other people, they also feel threatened by the conduct of people whose actions, however remotely, may influence their survival. I am asking you to give copies of this inexpensive little booklet as your gift to them.

It is very easy to do. Just follow the instructions given on the first page titled "HOW TO USE THIS BOOK." By sending others this book, you will be asking them to follow your example and the example set by over 12 million children who have participated in the National Children's Set A Good Example Campaign.

The reward will not be monetary. What goes around comes around. Your reward will be the satisfaction of knowing you have done something to help build trust and good will amongst people and to that degree a bit safer environment. Who knows, perhaps one day, when we as mankind can all trust one another, there can be "peace on earth, good will toward men."

If you like, print off my letter and give it along with The Way To Happiness booklets to family and friends. By doing so you demonstrate that you care about them and the world they live in. You will also help provide this book to more children across the nation working to set a good example for fellow students and their peers.

Please drop me a line by e-mail and let me know you have decided to help children in our country who are setting good examples for others across the world. My email address is president@cbaa.org.

To order FREE copies of The Way To Happiness book for review, use this link: The Way To Happiness.

Warmest Regards,

Barbara Ayash

International Freedom Medal Winner 1985

International Woman of the Year 1993-1994