I think the word "tolerance" has a sour ring to it. It seems to say that
those others are obviously doing something wrong but I am going to
overlook it in the name of peace. Shouldn't we rather acknowledge that
there are people who have very different ways of living and doing from our
own and that makes life so much more interesting. Can we welcome and
embrace our diversity?
.....
I don't agree that the word 'tolerance' has a sour ring to it, quite the
contrary. It acknowledges the fact that we are different and the
readiness to allow others to believe or act as they judge best.
Approaching others with this attitude promotes unity and concord, which in
turn are conducive to the maintenance of order in the world.
There is a Baha'i quote that says: 'Ye are all the leaves of one tree and
the drops of one ocean'. I like this concept because it acknowledges our
individuality, but also makes it clear that we are ultimately very similar
and all parts of greater whole - thus the need to be tolerant and to try
to understand each other without judgement or prejudice.
S. Sauve
Ottawa, Canada
ssauve@mus-nature.ca
-'He who experiences the unity of life, sees his own Self in all beings, and
all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.'
-- The Bhagavad Gita
--"Sauve, Suzanne" <SSAUVE@mus-nature.ca>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>