Thoughts on Tolerance

I started to write a blog on this earlier, when I saw Rick Perry's new campaign video, and I wrote about it instead. However, that post plays into what I want to say now.

Our current political and cultural schism is breeding hate, and it needs to stop.

I don't have a solution. But I have an idea of one part of that solution. Act with tolerance. Teach it. Don't fight it. But who would fight tolerance?

Speaking From Experience
I spent many years within the church, and that's where I'm coming from today. No, I no longer hold onto the faith of my teenage years through my mid-twenties. But as someone who has experienced both sides of the coin, I feel I can speak a little to the intolerance I've seen preached within Christian organizations. No, I don't feel every Christian adopts this stance. But what I did observe is alarming.

I've heard tolerance referred to as a liberal assault on Christianity. Or as the godless pushing an agenda. I mention this not to fully criticize the church, but instead to shed light on those who adopt that stance. It creates an Us versus Them environment, and that's dangerous.

Make no mistake, I am not placing full responsibility on just the church. We have plenty of Us vs Them scenarios. Everything from religion and politics, to our ethnicity and our social standing is cause for division. And, I'll add, the dialogue from many prominent atheists is just as divisive as leading religious figures.

A Nation Divided
Our current political climate is vicious. You still have hope that one day we'll have universal health care in this country? You're a liberal communist! You reject to gay marriage for religious purposes? You're a conservative fascist bigot! The language we're using to describe people who hold different political views than ourselves is full of hate. And it's being broadcast  24/7 news channels, the internet and various other sources.

Liberals love to point out that Fox News is a source of this, and while I certainly won't disagree, we're just as guilty. We speak in hyperbole. We point fingers. It reminds me of a Bible verse instructing us to remove the plank in our own eye before pointing out the speck in the eye of another. You don't have to be a Christian to see the relevance of that statement.

We're All Guilty
The point is, blame lies on all sides. The sooner people start to own up to that, the better off we'll be. When we stop listening to polarizing media analysts, and for the love of all that is good, stop buying their books and placing them on the bestseller lists... When we start admitting that while we believe one thing, others have the right to come to their own conclusions and believe something different... When we stop looking at those who disagree with us as enemies and start to find common ground... Then we'll take serious steps towards tolerance.


For the Sake of Future Generations
I mentioned in my post about Rick Perry that I'd get to a second point about prayer in schools. In high school, I was part of a group of students who met each day before classes started and prayed. People complained, and the issue was brought before the administration. In the end, we were allowed to continue. But I remember it being an issue of division. Us versus Them again.

Yesterday I got an email about yet another teenager who took his own life after being bullied. He was gay, and unfortunately that made him an easy target. I refuse to believe there isn't a correlation between the increased divisiveness we see in our nation and the alarming number of reports of children killing themselves after being subjected to bullying for being different.

I remember elementary school, where this one girl was made fun of constantly just because of her name. And I was lucky. I had a birthday party that year and had invited every girl in my class except two. My mom noticed this, and made me invite them as well. That girl was included. I learned something that year, about not excluding people. That lesson stuck with me throughout school, and I made an effort to not be biased just because other people were.

If we make an effort to teach tolerance, and to live it out ourselves, we'll inadvertently be teaching kids to do the same.

I can't see how this could possibly be a bad thing.