verb: To hold dear: cherish
Compassion noun: Sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it
Accept verb: To receive willingly
To give admittance or approval to
To endure without protest or reaction
To regard as proper, normal or inevitable
Tolerance noun: Sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own
Merriam-Webster.com
These are a few words that I have always tried to remind myself of when knowing and attempting to understand people. I generally try to give others the benefit of the doubt in situations. I also try to not purposely be hurtful or discriminating. I do also realize that I am a pretty blunt and sarcastic person and nowhere near perfection. You may think that these words and thoughts only come to mind because of the recent upheaval between the LDS church and others who disagree with church teachings. And although that situation may be keeping these words more constant in my mind, it is not the reason I remind myself of them usually.
I do not intend for this post to feel preaching or offensive. I have my own opinions and everyone else is entitled to theirs. I'm not trying to change someone's mind or views. I'm not going to decide I like a person or not based on their specific beliefs. But during this whole ordeal, I was interested in reading up on the numerous news articles from local papers as well as the actual speech given by Boyd K. Packer in general conference. After reading news articles online, it made me upset and sad to see how rude and inconsiderate people from both sides of the topic were being to each other in the comment area. Even on a Facebook page created to support president Packer, there were comments made by both parties (supporters and those opposed) that were hateful and mean. I was surprised at how ironic it seemed for many of those commenting to speak about supporting others yet being spiteful to the other "team" at the same time.
I feel that when people forget to remember these four words, it leads to so many unhappy circumstances in the world. An obvious example on a much larger scale would be war. I know this is cliché, but I really do wish the world could be peaceful and that hatred, cruelty, and war did not exist. I wish every one could learn to be harmonious and accepting. I know I am not a person who can fully demonstrate these words every minute of my life on a daily basis, but that can be a life long goal and I can continue to reach for it.
“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs.
Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.”
-John F Kennedy
On a lighter note, watch this
5 comments:
Agreed, agreed, agreed.
In one of my multicultural therapy classes we had extensive conversations about acceptance vs. tolerance. I always think about those conversations when people start preaching tolerance to each other. Your blog comments are probably not the place to regurgitate those discussions, but I do have very strong opinions on these topics.
The hateful things people say in the name of religion/politics are astounding. It'd be nice if we could all appreciate each other as fellow human beings trying to make the best of our lives, it seems there'd be a lot more joy in the world.
unfortunately i do not wish the world was without wars and hatred and death and crime and disease. i do not ever wish for world peace. in my personal religion, that world was the world that satan voted for in the pre-existence. as i am criticized over and over again for not wanting world peace, i stick to my opinion. opposition is required for free agency to exist. i do not the believe that the world will or should be at peace until Christ comes to reign.
I am glad that you brought this up Stacie. I know it is a sensitive subject, but I personally feel that no matter who you are and what you believe you should not judge others. No matter what you believe, you should be thoroughly informed about all sides of the discussion. And maybe I'm going out of bounds here, but I also believe that people don't have a right to tell other people how to think and what to do. They should be able to decide for themselves. I know a guy who is gay and hates the mormon church, but I also know people who are the exact opposite (mormon and hate gays). I think that this is VERY hypocritical of both sides. In a way both sides are preaching tolerance and kindness, so why can't they be tolerant and kind to each other?
I like this post. I agree, both sides have been bothering me. Why can't we just get over it and accept that everyone has their own opinions. It would make everything much easier.
"There is a sad tendency in our world today for persons to cut one another down. Did you ever realize that it does not take very much in the way of brainpower to make remarks that may wound another? Try the opposite of that. Try handing out compliments."
Gordon B. Hinckley
Religious Leader, 1910-2008, LDS President
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