Coexist

If there is one thing that gets me livid it is intolerance. Especially religious intolerance. For some unknown reason Facebook for the past couple of weeks is swarming with people declaring their beliefs on one thing, but then judging other’s for differing beliefs. Religious intolerance (and intolerance in general) hits a soft spot for me. I hate it. A lot. I have some very personal ties to it, which will not be discussed here. Or ever on this blog. This post is my rant though. My opinion on why I think religious intolerance is one of the foulest things to predominate among humans.

I was a nerdy child. (still am ;D ) But my time in elementary school was a nightmare. I was a skinny. I was nerdy. I was not good at sports. I had more girl friends then guy friends. I was smart. The combo of these traits had me targeted for bullies faster than I could name the planets of the solar system. I was bullied. I was different. Skipping all the gory details I eventually moved schools…only to be bullied by a different set of kids. Did I deserve some of the bullying…? Maybe. My social skills probably were not that adept. But still. I was different. And for that small reason I was singled out as being “weird.”

I kind of look like a rodent of some sort....

I do not know if this is what started my loathing for intolerance, or if it was my passion for other cultures and mythologies. But from what I can remember it started early. I always have believed that every religion on this planet has some value. I feel that religion's goal is to make people good. I may be flawed in this belief. But I don’t care. Spirituality is a key in the neurological stability of maturity. Whether it is Jehovah, Elohim, Budda, Jesus, Zeus, Hecate, or Confucius. Each one of these Gods gave humans the ability to make their lives better.

           So what is tolerance? To me tolerance is accepting. It is respect. It is taking that weird kid. The skinny one, who likes to read instead of playing basketball. It is taking him…and being nice. It doesn't mean agreeing on everything that kid does. But it does mean respecting it. Not verbally attacking him. Not challenging his actions because they differ from yours. Are we the ones who just make fun of the kid to get a rise out of him. Or are we the followers who promote it?

           To me there is no difference from this school yard bullying and religious intolerance. There are thousands of beautiful religions in this world and each of them have something to give to man kind. What makes us arbitrators of what is good and what is bad? Being a member of the LDS faith I see this on a regular basis. I served with Elders in Uruguay who believed that the Catholic Church was the legit Church of the devil. I knew of Elders who rejected any religious idea that was not our own. I participated in some of this. And it is and will be one of my biggest regrets of my life. I love my religion and I believe that it is true. But we have some of the best examples of religious intolerance out there. Both from our active members, and from ex-members looking back in.

           I do not care what you believe. But do NOT attack or belittle other faiths because you do not understand them or do not agree with their practices. That is not okay. Religion is meant to edify and build. Has it done its job? Not all the time. Is it one of the most hypocritical things out there. Of course. But I believe that is due to the human interaction. We are not a perfect species. We project our pride and ambitions into our activities. So HOW is it okay to judge a religion based on the actions of people? Will religions annoy you? Of course. I have been the annoyer. I have been spit in my face because I was trying to share what I believe is the word of God. Is that okay? Yes. Did I spit back because they didn't believe? Absolutely not.

            I do not understand a lot of that the Jehovah’s Witness believe in. They have some interesting ideologies that I don’t quite understand. However…they are an incredible force of people. They strive to make their members better and they promote healthy lifestyles. What is wrong with that!? Is it human nature to see only the bad and reject the good? Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Evangelicals, Wicca’s….we ALL have CRAZY beliefs. (Mormons have some of the craziest!) But why does that matter!? Why are we so keen to attack those beliefs we don’t agree with or think are ludicrous?

          This leads me to the Facebook dilemma. I love facebook. I am on it WAY TOO MUCH. I think it is a great tool to meet people, plan events, and catch up with people who you do not see everyday. But it is also a vicious tool. People can post whatever the hell they think is important without realizing the damage it can cause. Or making a spectacle of thier public journal. They hide behind their computer screen and attack beliefs that are dear to others. They don’t know if their words hurt. They cant see the pain they cause. But they sure as hell like causing it. All for the sake of inflating what they already believe.

            I have seen more crap (trying to be decent…) from people who claim that they are now self sufficient in their spirituality and don’t need religion. From agnostic to atheist. I really do not care. But just because you do not believe. DOES NOT mean you can belittle the rest of us just because we believe in a different God than you do. Keep it to yourself. What happened to “if you cant say anything nice…don’t say anything at all?” Apparently that saying does not apply in the realm of social media.

           J.K. Rowing wrote 7 incredible books about the dangers of intolerance. Dumbledore was gay. Hermione was a mud-blood. Harry a pure-blood. Ron a traitor. Yet each one of them symbolizes that it simply does not matter. Why does it matter when religion is involved? Would we think Hermione any less of a literary heroine if we found out she was Catholic? Or if Snape was a Buddhist? Would their symbolism change? People are people. They have different beliefs. Those beliefs can be crazy. Why do we care? She said it the best in this incredible quote that has molded my opinion on this matter.

Will this little rant change anything. Probably not. I will still read blasphemy on Facebook. That wont change. But if you do read this. Please think about it. Are we so willing to criticize instead of finding truth and goodness in what we don’t agree with? Do we post things that we may not find offensive on our walls, but could hurt someone else? Or are we forced to just block people. People who I admire and think are wonderful people. Friends, relatives, colleagues, and family. People who have a lot of respect in my eye. Yet lose it the moment they comment on my or any religion in a negative way.

          To end. I am sorry for the rant. But I am not sorry for my words. I will defend religious tolerance till I die. It means so much to me. The world would be a better place if we could all just respect each others beliefs. Will this ever happen. Doubt it. But I can sure as hell try to do my part. And I will. Also the next time you want to say something on Facebook…remember there are three things we shouldn't talk about at the dinner table. Sex, politics, and religion. Maybe the dinner table is not the only place to do that at….. ;) just saying.

Thanks for reading. This is stuff from my soul.

“It's an universal law-- intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education breeds humility.” 
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

“If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear.” 
― Gene Roddenberry

In this world, unity is achievable only by learning to unite in spite of differences, rather than insisting on unity without differences. For their total eradication is an impossibility. The secret of attaining peace in life is tolerance of disturbance of the peace. (p. 99)” 
― Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, The True Jihad: The Concept of Peace, Tolerance and Non Violence in Islam

“The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry. And I think it's one of the reasons that some people don't like the books, but I think that's it's a very healthy message to pass on to younger people that you should question authority and you should not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth.” 
― J.K. Rowling