By Robert C. Blezard
Study guide
Beyond tolerance in a diverse world T
he world is getting smaller all the time. Ease of international travel and the revolution in Internet communications bring more and more of us in contact with one another all the time. It means we are more likely than ever to encounter others with whom we have differ- ences of opinion or
outlook.Toler- ance may keep things civil—and it’s a whole lot better than intolerance— but we have to go deeper in order to live in harmony, peace, understand- ing and love.
Exercise 1: Tolerance vs. acceptance • What does tolerance mean to you? • Can you describe a person or situa- tion that you simply tolerate? • What emotions come into play with tolerance? • How would you describe a rela- tionship that consists of mere tolerance? • How is acceptance different? • Can tolerance be an element of acceptance? • What emotions does acceptance entail? • How can a relationship of toler- ance grow into one of acceptance? Can you share a story of such a transformation?
Exercise 2: ‘I am tolerated’ If you can, share a time or situation in which you felt merely tolerated, but not necessarily welcomed or accepted by a group or a person. • What happened? • How were you treated? Why? • How did you wish to be treated? • How did it feel? • What was your subsequent rela-
tionship with those people? • As you reflect on the situation, how could you have handled things differently?
Exercise 3: Love your neighbor In Mark 12:30-31 (and elsewhere), Jesus identified loving your neigh- bor as yourself as the commandment second only to loving God with everything you’ve got. Read the text and discuss: • What does Jesus mean when he says to “love your neighbor as yourself”? • How far beyond tolerance and acceptance is loving your neighbor? • Is it easy to love all your neigh- bors? What makes it a challenge? • Do you have to like a neighbor to love him or her? Why or why not? • Even if we cannot, in our human weakness, love all our neighbors, why is it important to try?
Exercise 4: Intolerance today? • What groups today are likely to face the harshness of intolerance or the cold shoulder of mere toler- ance, rather than acceptance or even friendship? • How would your community receive a new neighbor who belonged to one of the following groups: a mixed-race family; undoc- umented aliens; Muslims; people who barely speak English; Sikhs; homeless people; American Indians; Wiccans; people who raise pit bulls; people who get around in wheel- chairs; atheists; people of color; motorcycle enthusiasts; people with piercings and tattoos; gay, lesbian or transgender people?
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• Which of these groups would have an easier time settling into your community? Which of these groups would have a harder time? Why? • What does that say about your neighborhood? • What could you do about it?
Exercise 5: Hate crimes The American legal system guaran- tees freedom of religion and speech for all, and it codifies the rights of all to live peacefully. Yet intoler- ance still boils over into violence. On Aug. 5, 2012, Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist, entered a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., killed six people and wounded four before killing himself. On Oct. 6, 1998, Aaron McKin-
ney and Russell Henderson met a gay 21-year-old college student, Matthew Shepard, in a bar in Lara- mie, Wyo., and offered to give him a ride home. Instead they drove to a remote place, tied him to a fence post and beat him to death. They were convicted of murder. Discuss:
• What causes people to commit vio- lent hate crimes? • Does our culture tolerate prejudice and intolerance? • Do we encourage intolerance if we are silent when we hear racial slurs or ethnic jokes? • Is it merely “politically correct” to speak well of all people, or is it the right thing to do? • How can people of faith help create a climate of tolerance?
Blezard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Arendtsville, Pa. He has a master of divinity degree from Boston University and did subsequent study at the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia.
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