The price of intolerance

There was a country song quite a few years ago with a line, "You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything". I can appreciate taking a stand, it is important to have a belief system, and to hold yourself accountable to it.

What I don't understand, is believing you have the only "right" belief system.  I had a blog post titled  "There is no Them" a few weeks ago.

Somehow, many humans have come to believe that if you don't share their belief system, you are wrong or bad.  Oh my.  What a sad place to live.

Where is tolerance?  What happened to the idea that even if we disagree, we don't have to be disagreeable?  In recent days, I have seen many people proclaim to "know" what God wants.  Wow.

I believe in a Higher Power, and I try to live in accordance with what I believe that Higher Power expects of me.  My belief system includes meeting that Higher Power on another plane of existence, after physical death of my body.  I expect my Higher Power to let me know at that time how well I did living up to expectations.

I accept I may be wrong about what is expected of me as a human.  I would never tell another person that they are wrong or evil or unloved or unlovable by a Higher Power just because their belief system differs from mine.  I accept that most of us are just trying our best to get by in a difficult world.

I understand that most humans have been programmed to see things as either right or wrong.  I agree, I see some right and wrong myself.  Harming others is wrong.  Loving others is right.  That is almost where I draw my line on right and wrong.   Beyond "Love one Another" most religious mandates and statements are man-made and subject to interpretation.

Love one Another is pretty clear, and it appears in some form or another in most religious doctrines.  For those not embracing religion, the Golden Rule does it.  One should treat others on one would like others to treat oneself.

So, how is "My God thinks you're a bad person" loving?  Is that what you want others to say to you?  If you step back and thing about your personal intolerance and what it costs you, is it worth the price?

My life is incredibly rich because of the diversity of the people who share it.  I love that diversity, and by and large, I love people.

I disagree on certain topics with many people, and on some topic or another with just about everyone.  That doesn't mean we don't have common ground.  It doesn't mean that I can't learn from everyone.  It doesn't mean my life isn't better because of the diversity of the people that are in it.  It just means we have different perspectives and subscribe to different belief systems.

Social media has provided many benefits for connection, but the concept that you can and should "unfriend" someone who does not share your belief system is a toxin to human interaction.

Yes, if someone regularly brings harm to you or your loved ones, you should limit your exposure to them.  That is not what I see with the proliferation of "unfriending".  This "unfriend" action feels small-minded and mean-spirited.  It feels like the person choosing to "unfriend" has decided that someone doesn't measure up to their standard of moral perfection, and should be removed.

And the sad thing is that maybe the unfrienders are better than those who proclaim friendship to continue to beseech you to embrace a belief system that you do not share and that does not embrace who you are.

My Higher Power loves each of His creations just the way He made them.  I'm not so naive that I pretend that there is no evil in the world.  But I do believe the number of people who truly want to cause harm is small.  Most harm is caused by carelessness, not malice.

We can all share this planet in harmony, but many choose discord.  The price of intolerance is the wonderful gift of all the individuals in the world who don't share your belief system being lost to you.  How very sad.