Tolerance is the appreciation of diversity and the ability
to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions,
practices, religion, culture differ from one's own. Genuine tolerance is respect
for the dignity of others. It focuses more on our common humanity than on
our differences.
There are many good, moral reasons to be tolerant. (1)
We are all susceptible to ignorance and prejudice, which make us inclined toward
hurtful behavior. Where ignorance and prejudice cannot be corrected or
eliminated, we ought to try at least to minimize their severity. Working on our
own tolerance training is an effort to achieve for our selves the least-worst problem.
There are many situations where tolerance needs to be
exercised: parents tolerate their children’s behavior; friends tolerate others’
weaknesses; governments tolerate dissent; a religion tolerates homosexuality; a
state tolerates a minority religion; a society tolerates abnormal behavior.
One can only address tolerance when it is
practiced voluntarily and not compelled; otherwise it would be a case
of simply suffering or enduring things that one rejects but against which one
is powerless.
Roots of Intolerance
In the absence of their own experiences, individuals base
their impressions and opinions of one another on assumptions. These assumptions
can be influenced by the beliefs of those who are most influential in their
lives, including parents or other family members, colleagues, educators, and/or
role models. (2)
Individual attitudes are influenced by the images of other
groups in the media. Sometimes school curriculums and educational literature
provide biased and/or negative historical accounts of world cultures. Education
or schooling based on myths can reduce tolerance for diversity and differences.
Religious Tolerance
Most people have difficulty being tolerant to those that
follow a different religious or spiritual path than their own. They continue to
focus so much on differences that they lose sight of where values are the same.
Three-quarters of the
world's human population of seven billion live under government curbs on
religion, or among serious "social hostilities" involving faith
issues. A 2012 Pew report shows the stark picture of a "rising
tide" of intolerance and government restrictions on religious matters. It cites
evidence of "crimes, malicious acts and violence motivated by religious
hatred or bias, as well as increased government interference with worship or
other religious practices". (3)
Despite the high ideals of its constitution, America has
struggled with religious intolerance since its early colonial days. The story
of religious intolerance in America’s past is awkward and embarrassing and
occasionally bloody. (4)
Racial Tolerance
In different parts of the
world, ethnic or racial intolerance varies – from offensive or thoughtless
remarks, to efforts to exterminate specific ethnic or racial groups as national
policy.
The world’s religions have rarely been helpful in opposing
ethnic intolerance. While it is true that some individuals have heroically
opposed oppression, religion as a whole has all too frequently sided with the
oppressors. (5)
America as a nation applauds its ability to move beyond race or ethnicity. But in a 2012 survey, 51% of Americans expressed explicit anti-black attitudes, compared with 48% in a similar 2008 survey. When measured by an implicit racial attitudes test, the number of Americans with anti-black sentiments jumped to 56%, up from 49%. (6)
For politicians, it is political suicide to openly profess
racial bias. After election of the first American president who is half-black, and
record levels of voting by people of color, reactionary politicians are
erecting more barriers to voter registration. Today for millions of poor, black
Americans voting freedoms of are unduly burdened or denied. (7)
That is the dilemma of racial tolerance today. We have
hints, suggestions, and indications of racial bias all around us. But it is
typically unspoken, if not altogether invisible, most of the time. And where
it's not invisible, there is often a plausible cover story that can be told as
to why racially differential treatment was somehow justifiable or legitimate. (8)
All of this makes waging the fight against racial
intolerance much tougher. It is now quiet, or rationalized and thereby hidden
in plain view.
Cultural Tolerance
Culture is defined by a
set of practices followed by a group of people. Not all culture is definitive.
Culture can be extremely generalized, and the lines between cultures quite
gray. Every country may have its own culture, and then every part of that
country may have its own culture. Every city may have its own culture, and then
every neighborhood within that city. Some cultures can have members scattered
around a country or even the world. (9)
The general thought is that we live in a time of “global
monoculture”. It would seem that in such a world, coercion is absent, many
languages are tolerated and multiculturalism is officially extolled. But, the
power of dominant global cultures is such that they tend to overwhelm all local
cultures, or reduce them to a status of inferiority.
Today, there is increasing awareness of cultural diversity,
which threatens established cultures. The resulting rising number of terrorist
groups and extremists increase the intolerance of the cultural diversity. Today
we are seeing the effect of globalization and the Internet on long-simmering
cultural and religious intolerance, and the conflagrations are growing.
The media should
use positive images to promote understanding and cultural sensitivity. The more
people are exposed to positive media messages about other cultures, the less
they are likely to find faults with one another.
Educators are instrumental in promoting tolerance and
peaceful coexistence.
For instance, schools that create a tolerant environment help young people respect
and understand different cultures.
Solutions for
Intolerance
Individuals should continually focus on being tolerant of
others in their daily lives. This involves consciously challenging the stereotypes and
assumptions that they typically encounter in making decisions about others
and/or working with others either in a social or a professional environment.
(10)
The media should
use positive images to promote understanding and cultural sensitivity. The more
people are exposed to positive media messages about other cultures, the less
they are likely to find faults with one another.
The most effective ways to solve the intolerance problem is education.
It begins in childhood. It’s important to teach tolerance at home and in
school. If parents are intolerant, then they raise intolerant kids. To help
this, the educational system needs to focus on imparting tolerance. It is imperative
that new generations learn to be tolerant.
There’s a piece of tolerance inside all of us. It’s important
to try to find this little piece. Everyone faces a lot of problems caused by
intolerance everyday, even inside the home and workplace is where we need to
begin to practice tolerance. We ourselves should work to not make the problem bigger. (11)
Let’s Engage:
For this blog, I’m asking you to engage! Don’t just
read passively. Write your views on tolerance directly on the blog! Here are
some questions to get you going:
- Any discussion on
Tolerance is not complete without addressing behaviors and actions that
are NOT tolerable. Can anyone be expected to accept direct violence or
physical threats without fighting back? Can one simply “turn the other
cheek”.
- Do you consider the
current Middle East conflict a religious war? Or radical extremists?
- Do the police shootings in
Ferguson, Missouri demonstrate racial bias?
- What are the root-causes
of ethnic or racial intolerance? How can we ourselves avoid having it, or showing
it?
- Today, in your own city,
state or country, is the problem of tolerance getting better? Or worse?
- Has the Internet affected religious
or racial tolerance?
- Is it reasonable to hope
that someday all religions and races will co-exist peacefully? Is
that simply a pipedream?
References:
- Is Tolerance a Virtue? http://goo.gl/j2oPx1
- Religious intolerance on
the rise worldwide: http://goo.gl/XwEXZK
- Our History of Religious
Intolerance Must Come to an End: http://goo.gl/sDsrTV
- America's True History of
Religious Tolerance: http://goo.gl/j0D36M
- Guardian: America is still
a deeply racist country: http://goo.gl/RpsDjH
- 2012 AP poll: U.S.
majority have prejudice against blacks: http://goo.gl/ybGk3D
- 11 Facts About Racial
Discrimination: http://goo.gl/Srjc71
- Cultural Intolerance: http://goo.gl/ElxwxR
- 8 Habits of Intolerant
People: http://goo.gl/vIlfEC
- Intolerance in all the
world – problem-solution essay: http://goo.gl/ogxwZO
- Excellent essay on Tolerance:
http://goo.gl/vMhyUd
Carlsbad, CA.
USA
27 February 2015
