ON BEING TOLERANT

The word tolerance was first used in the 15^th century and the concerted efforts of many led to the adoption of article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948 which states – everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Helen Keller once said “The highest result of education is tolerance”. This is so true that even the spirit of democracy means liberty of choice for human beings. That’s why we can not export democracy to other countries because if the individuals have had no real education about tolerance they can never behave democraticaly within a family unit, a community or a society.

Tolerance is defined as:

• “A fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race,    religion, nationality, etc., differ from one’s own’.
• “Freedom from bigotry or stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief or opinion  that differs from one’s own”.
• “Understanding and recognition of rights and beliefs of others”.
• “Enduring, bearing, permitting, and supporting of those who don’t share our opinions”.
• “An attitude of mind that implies non-judgmental acceptance of different life styles or  beliefs. Toleration also implies “putting up with something that one disapproves”.

Examples of those who are not tolerant include but is not limited to the following persons, no matter which side they are coming from:

• Those who think they are on a mission to change others because they are right about everything.
• Those who think if they own a business they also own the people in it.
• Those who try to attack the character of the person who disagrees with them.
• Those who intentionally and publicly ignore and disrespect the person who does not go along with them.
• Those who have a racket and continuously complain about how wrong everybody else is.
• Those who want to prove that others are on a wrong track because it differs from theirs.
• Those who are judgmental and cannot honor the rights and opinions of others

You can add your own examples to my list in the comment section of this post.

The questions are:

1. Can we look with fresh eyes at every person we meet?
2. Can we focus on the wholeness of other face with an attitude of openness?
3. Can we listen to people with no prejudice?
4. Can we take a higher stance and uplift others instead of dismissing them?
5. Do we realize that loving others is not just a question of being nice to them and we need to communicate with specific intention and focus?

After all, this is a connected universe and cynicism does not work. We have the power to share kindness, respect, understanding and awareness with others in order to initiate creative collaborations.

#Tolerance, #Intolerance