Teaching Tolerance, Advancing Society
Q: Who will be responsible to teach tolerance?
Q: What is being done right now?
Q: How will society reach its final goal of tolerance?
Q: What evidence is there that tolerance works?
Q: Why is censorship not a better way to stop hate speech?
A: Tolerance is needed for the advancement of the human race. In the shrinking world, people are more likely to interact with others who are completely different then them. In the Eighteenth century, many people would never leave the areas surrounding where they were born. They would interact mainly with neighbors, people who grew up in the same situation and environment as they did. Today however, the world is shrinking due to technology, and people of all races, creeds, and nationalities are interacting on the global stage. In order for this to work, they need to be able to respect their new "neighbors" and not look down upon them. A tolerant person is also more likely to succeed because they will be more comfortable talking to different people.
Q: Who will be responsible to teach tolerance?
A: There can be different groups bearing the costs and responsibilities of tolerance education. On a national level, individual countries should be responsible for teaching their citizens to be tolerant of others. The incentive in this would be reduced crime and a better national identity, thus allowing the individual nation to grow more. Some nations however may be slow to follow these ideas however, and may need an international organization to persuade them to fall into line. The responsibility of that should fall to the United Nations. An organization like this shows that people of different races, nationalities, creeds, and backgrounds can work together for a common good. Tolerance would benefit the entire world, and allow everyone to be able to better live in harmony. The UN is the only international organization who may have the influence to do this. What they say can influence nations, as the world community could look down upon a country they see as ignoring United Nations requests. This could fall under the UN responsibility for the protection of human rights.
Q: What is being done right now?
A: Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center or All One Heart are striving for tolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center is a nationally known and renowned group which runs a website devoted to tolerance education. The site includes tips and ideas about how to eliminate hate. It also brings similar minded people together for the purpose to pushing the tolerance agenda further. All One Heart is a group which promotes tolerance through education plans, publications, videos, and community outreach events. Another tolerance group working today is the International Tolerance Network. This group publishes books which help people teach others about tolerance.
Q: How will society reach its final goal of tolerance?
A: By learning about other cultures, and how they are similar to a person’s own, humanity will be able to learn that we are all one. Humanity will learn that we have no need to hate another person because of their color, race, religion, or anything else. People must come together and love one another in order to reach this goal. The idea of everyone accepting everyone else can be seen as the final goal. It is of the utmost importance that we embrace this goal, as the advancement of the human race depends on it. There is no reason in this point in human evolution that we should harbor feelings of hatred for those who are different then us.
Q: What evidence is there that tolerance works?
A: There are groups in the Middle East that attempt to plant the seeds of tolerance in young Israelis and Palestinians. These groups see this as an opportunity to overcome the current cycle of attacks and retribution. One such group is PEACE which seeks to put an end to the conflict. They want each side to come to the table and tolerate one another so that they can see the opposite side as an equal. If this works there, on a small scale, then it can work on a larger one. This can be applied to any conflict, especially one having to due with race.
Q: There has been hate and discrimination since the beginning of human history. Why do we need to do this now?
A: While yes, there has been hatred and conflict since the beginning of human history, we are now at a point where we are an advanced society. We live in a world which is one global neighborhood, where in order to do business, you may have to deal with people in several nations. Because of this new global village, we have the opportunity to finally become one people, the Earth as a whole. With different cultures co-mingling with others, and people respect each other, it can be seen as possibly the first step towards world peace. Without conflict and hatred, the people of the world can also strive for better equality. It may assist in developing nations attempting to increase the quality of life for their inhabitants.
Q: Why is censorship not a better way to stop hate speech?
A: Censorship stops hate speech from being visible, but it does not stop it at its roots. If society wants to be able to do this, they are going to have to put forth a viable plan to teach tolerance. If a person does not hate someone else to begin with, they will have no reason to put forth hateful thoughts. Censorship also drives the hateful thought underground. If it is underground, authorities will have a harder time tracking it, and making sure it does not get out of hand. Underground groups are also more likely to turn violent, because it may be harder for them to express their hate. If they are being hateful online, they may assume that a large audience is seeing their hate and feel no need to express it publicly. If however, they are completely underground, they may pursue other public means to show their feelings.
Q: Can tolerance be as powerful as censorship can, even though tolerance lacks the legal backing that censorship does?
A: One benefit of censorship, is that it has legal backing. Because of this, it would be limitedly effective quickly, depending on its enforcement. Because tolerance does not have a legal president, it will take longer for it to become effective. However, it has a greater potential to be more effective. Censorship does not stop the hate; it just keeps it quiet and lowers its visibility. If it is enacted, then the problem will not shrink, it will remain stagnant. Tolerance however will spread, thus reducing the problem of hate. The delay in its effectiveness is a small price to pay in order to achieve the results that are possible with teaching tolerance.
