What is tolerance? Many people simply think it’s a measure of how much of something one can stand-stress, for example. But there is another, more important definition for tolerance in today’s multicultural world. According to the United Nations, tolerance is the capacity to accept differences, respect one another and stand up for what one knows is right. The organization considers it one of the foundations of human rights.
This capacity is more important today than ever. In communities across America and around the world, hate crimes and other forms of intolerance are on the rise. The only way to prevent hate crimes and the pain and suffering caused by intolerance is to practice tolerance in daily living and teach it to children, the next generation.
While people may not accept the choices of others, ultimately they must learn to respect others and the way they live their lives. (In fact, many differences between people, such as race, color, language or sexual orientation, are not matters of choice and cannot be used as bases for deciding whether people are good.)¹
The reasoning behind my article this time came from many levels, but the one that pushed it over the edge for me was reading the newspaper. Articles referencing intimidating teenagers standing on the sidewalk, and wanting to promote a better community by hiding a homeless shelter because it would project a negative image for the community have me baffled. Citizens often complain about community issues and when someone comes up with an idea or project they complain about that. Here is a great list of grassroots community projects that are trying to address filling gaps that seem to be growing.
Roof Us Task Force — Interested in enclosing the swimming pool and addressing barriers to year round us. Who cares if people get to swim you might ask? There is a growing need for activities that address obesity issues, therapeutic and physical therapy needs, physical training needs and positive family activity needs. This group is working on making Sierra County a better place to live.
Fountain of Hope Project— Interested in addressing the needs of Sierra County citizen’s by implementing some kind of “shelter” system that would work on guiding citizens in need of temporary shelter, provide a referral system to local services. There are already resources for services, why do we need a shelter? You might not be aware that in order to receive certain services you need a physical address. Some people are scared of “agencies” because of previous experiences. Some people can’t read or don’t understand what services they qualify for. Fountain of Hope would serve as a “community” connection between people and services.
Rock Climbing Wall — Interested in making available a place for young people to learn the intricacy’s of rock climbing in a safe environment. “I don’t want kids hanging around, so put the wall somewhere else” is a common statement. When I here about “intimidating” teenagers I often wonder if the person making the comment has said hello to the young people or perhaps tried a smile. Rock climbing is a positive, often therapeutic activity that can be enjoyed by all safely.
Transportation Initiative — Interested in securing public transportation for Sierra County. “People just need to get up off their butts and work to get their own car” is a statement I have heard recently. Reliable transportation is something that affects many citizens of Sierra County. Car maintenance, insurance, gas, etc. are just to costly for some people. It is hard to find a job, receive services, or go to school if you don’t have some way to get there. Public transportation has environmental benefits, benefits economy and tourism, increases access to education and health needs and improves the quality of life for those that are no longer able to drive.
Groups trying to start neighborhood watches, alcohol and drug related support groups, awareness about drinking and driving, domestic abuse, enhancing our cultural needs by promoting art, tourism, our hot baths etc. have proven that citizen’s having a passion about an issue or topic can benefit the whole community. Sponsoring awareness forums or fundraisers is a way to bring community members, business owners, agencies and local government together. With so many budget cuts and infrastructure issues in a small community such as ours local governing bodies have a great job to deal with. At some point I suppose the memo went out that government is responsible for everything or that coming up with solutions was someone else’s problem but I have seen this community come together and make dreams come true.
You might be puzzled by now about how this ties in with tolerance. When a community takes an “us against them” attitude or a “those people” attitude damage is done. We have all known or been a “those people” in our lives whether we knew it or not. Could it be that if we get to know “those people” a little better, or get all the facts about a project or an issue before we criticize it that the whole community will find it can benefit. It is very hard to take back misinformation and extremely hard to repair the damage it can do. I am not saying that questioning things in not appropriate, as a matter of fact the more questions and different perspectives you can get the better. I am suggesting that supporting or criticizing something from only your experience or before getting all the facts can be damaging to the community. If we think only as “us against them”, we never truly move forward. But by thinking as “we” and taking personal responsibility to better educate ourselves and those we know we can make a difference in many people’s lives and improve the quality of life in Sierra County for all.
¹ Excerpt taken from the Skill Builder “Teaching Tolerance To Teens” brochure.
