Tolerance Is An Essential Value Of Humanity
Don’t let your ego prevent you from accepting others
Sept 4, 2018
“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” – John F. Kennedy
Merriam-Webster defines tolerance as, “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.” More simply put, tolerance is partially defined, by Dictionary.com as, “freedom from bigotry.”
Tolerance is not static, however. It is, of course, not humanly possible to be tolerant of every situation. The amount of beliefs and ideologies that exist in this world are endless. In certain situations, where violence, hate, or otherwise harmful behavior is involved, tolerance is, of course, not possible. A good moral conscience goes hand in hand with tolerance.
Religious and cultural tolerance are both incredibly important. Our planet is enormous, and we are all raised with different religious and cultural backgrounds. No matter where you work, go to school, or go out to dinner, you will always encounter individuals who have different beliefs and values than yourself.
It is absolutely understandable to be passionate about our spiritual beliefs, but we must remember that others might feel just as strongly about their own. Respect is an essential part of tolerance. We are all equal in this world, regardless of what our egos might make us think.
Tolerance is a value that has been misconstrued in America, within the past decade. Tolerance is not a value that is exclusive to people of certain religious or political backgrounds. However, the word now has connotations that suggest otherwise.
Take the zero-tolerance immigration policy, for example, which the Trump administration recently introduced, regarding the detainment of illegal immigrants and their children. Regardless of the intentions of the policy, the title itself names the value of tolerance, painting it as a weak and ignorant practice that will have no place in this country. The utilization of this value is incredibly rhetorical, as it assists to further polarize the Republican and Democratic parties. Because of rhetorical choices like this, moral values are considered partisan by many people in America.
Political tolerance is at an all-time low in America, as our two-party system continues to divide us as a nation. Regardless of the political labels we apply to ourselves and to each other, we all have much more in common than most of us would like to believe. We must remember that an individual’s political affiliation is not their entire life story. The polarization of values, like tolerance, will only break us down and carry us further apart.
Tolerance is a value that we all ought to treasure. Children who practice tolerance of others, usually grow to be more accepting of themselves as well. The home is a great place to begin learning. Before they are able to speak, children observe and mimic the behaviors of their parents, or other close family members.
Tolerance fosters positivity in the mind and into the community. There are incredible resources online for teaching tolerance to children, including an insightful website entitled, tolerance.org. “Educating for a Diverse Community,” is stated in bold text on the homepage.
The Horrors Of Plastic And Why You Should Cut Back
The era of the plastic straw has come to an end.
Jul 2, 2018
Plastic is a material that can be very useful for long-term purposes. However, when it is used just once and then thrown away, it can be awfully damaging to us and our environment. This is known as single-use, or disposable, plastic, which describes items like plastic cups, plastic silverware, straws, water bottles, and food packaging. It is common knowledge that the extreme excess of plastic is a contributing factor to the deterioration of our earth, oceans, creatures, but do you know about the health risks, associated with it?
Why should you care? Regardless of if you never use any plastic products in your lifetime, you will likely still ingest particles of toxic substances that creep into the water supply, and our food. This happens because plastic is not biodegradable, meaning that it does not break down into soil, and subsequently releases those substances into the earth and water. Because of this, it really does make a difference, when a few of us become aware of the plastic that we are consuming.
Bisphenol-A, better known as BPA, a toxic chemical that behaves like estrogen, is found in many things, including plastic packaging, bottles, and containers. Countless scientific studies have found that BPA can dramatically affect our hormones, and can even cause cancer. To make things scarier, the damage from BPA that you experience now, will affect your future offspring and continue for generations. This makes cutting back on your plastic consumption pretty important.
The effects that plastic has, on the environment and other creatures, is also quite bothersome. Landfills are out of control. It is estimated that around 50% of recycled plastic ends up being dumped into landfills. For instance, a plastic shopping bag takes up to twenty years to break down, and a plastic bottle takes around four-hundred and fifty years to do so… Let that sink in. Plastic can also be life-threatening for all kinds of wildlife, when becoming tangled, injured, choked, and more.
Our oceans are heavily impacted by plastic, too. In about thirty years, the ocean scientists expect the ocean to house more plastic than fish. Much of the plastic that is put into landfills, ends up finding its way into the ocean, via wind, wildlife, or who knows what else. It is common for animals to become tangled in plastic packaging, and to mistake some plastic items for food or prey. This obviously leads to devastating and torturous consequences for these creatures. This does not have to continue to pile up…
Society is beginning to halt the use of single-use plastic. Within eighteen states in India, you can actually be fined for using single-use plastics. Since the beginning of June, Ikea has been phasing out the use single-use plastic, in their stores and food courts. However, even with all of this progress, plastic production and consumption numbers are still expected to grow, which makes it essential to get the word out there. More below ↓
Cutting back on single-use plastic usage, is remarkably easy to do. A simple way to begin, is to reject plastic bags at retail and grocery stores, and instead bring reusable shopping bags. You have likely seen these canvas-material bags in Kroger, Walmart, and similar retailers, usually near the check-out aisles. They are also super easy to buy online: Right Here
Another way to reduce your plastic usage is to invest in a stainless steel water bottle, and stop using disposable, plastic water bottles. These can be found at many retail stores, and of course online. Here is a link to where you can order one now: Click here
Unfortunately, we cannot undo all of the plastic that we have consumed, in the past. We can only shape our future. Luckily, we have alternatives to help us live free of plastics, and chemicals like BPA.
Mary Beth Crooks 