Intolerable intolerance

Watching world news on television, I often wonder just what is missing from the present state of affairs where protagonists in politics, business, media, the arts, entertainment, sport and even religion rely on a vindictive intolerance of another’s opinion to bolster their ambitions.

Somehow, I get the feeling that far too many people view intolerance as a strength and not the weakness that it surely is. The nastier, the better.

Ironic, isn’t it, that in a world where religion is banned from so many schools, intolerance is not? In a world that puts so much store in legislating against hate speech and racism, little is said about the destructive power of intolerance. And where students are taught everything from mathematics to semantics and needlepoint, very few schools offer a subject called tolerance. Perhaps they should, because tolerance is one of the most important of all life skills.

Some well-known people and some not-so-well-known people have had fascinating and inspiring things to say about tolerance. A fellow called Sidney J Harris put it in perfect perspective for me: “Intolerance,” he said, “is the most socially acceptable form of egotism, for it permits us to assume superiority without personal boasting.”

And here is someone else who believes that learning about intolerance is important: “The human family is very diverse, with many different beliefs and cultures and ways of life. Many conflicts in our world are caused when people are intolerant of the ways that others see the world. Learning tolerance is an important cornerstone to creating a better world.” — Robert Alan

And some more wise words:

“We must not only control the weapons that can kill us, we must bridge the great disparities of wealth and opportunity among the peoples of the world, the vast majority of whom live in poverty without hope, opportunity or choices in life. These conditions are a breeding ground for division that can cause a desperate people to resort to nuclear weapons as a last resort. Our only hope lies in the power of our love, generosity, tolerance and understanding and our commitment to making the world a better place for all.” — Muhammad Ali

“We need to promote greater tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world. Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development than a world divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines. In each nation, and among all nations, we must work to promote unity based on our shared humanity.” — Kofi Annan

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because some day in life you will have been all of these.” — George Washington Carver

“In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.” — 14th Dalai Lama

“The focus of tolerance education is to deal with the concept of equality and fairness. We need to establish confidence with children that there is more goodness than horror in this world.” — Morris Dees

“Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population.” — Albert Einstein

“Nuremberg taught me that creating a world of tolerance and compassion would be a long and arduous task. And I also learned that if we did not devote ourselves to developing effective world law, the same cruel mentality that made the Holocaust possible might one day destroy the entire human race.” — Benjamin Ferencz, Nuremberg prosecutor

“The only hope of preserving what is best lies in the practice of an immense charity, a wide tolerance, a sincere respect for opinions that are not ours.” — Philip Gilbert Hamerton

“The problem to be faced is: how to combine loyalty to one’s own tradition with reverence for different traditions.” – — Abraham Joshua Heschel

Selma G Hirsch believes that respect is more important. “Respect, not tolerance, must be our goal if we would diminish prejudice in our time.”

Maybe, that should be “respect and tolerance”?

“It is essential to employ trust and reward those whose perspective, ability, and judgment are radically different from yours. It is also rare, for it requires uncommon humility, tolerance and wisdom.” — Dee Hock

All of that having been said, I am now determined in my own life to be extremely intolerant of intolerance.