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Tolerance

TOLERANCE
As time went on and more people criticized others in my presence, I started worrying more and more about what others thought of me. After all, the persons being criticized had no idea they were sinning so dramatically. If they were blissfully clueless of their wild indiscretions, how could I know if I ever was accidentally committing some?
TOLERANCE
Those of my generation recall the stories we were told that got us hooked on cigarettes. One-minute commercials told women they’d “come a long way baby,” and they deserved the same rights as men. (The primary withheld right apparently being the right to die an early death.) Men were shown one-minute stories about lone cowboys, riding the range, and lighting up a Marlboro—something manly men just do. The power of story led, at least in part, to millions of men and women’s lives being cut short.
TOLERANCE
If you’re about my age, maybe you grew up thinking that World War III would be fought between the U.S. and the Soviets… little did you know.
TOLERANCE
Perhaps it was reticence or a lack of confidence in my young self that John seized upon, but his reaction was instant. He jumped on my offer with the fervor of an offended politician.
TOLERANCE
What hatred and intolerance look like: The charred remains of 4-year old Melissa Morrison, recovered from the ashes of the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, after the inferno of April 19, 1993 ended the FBI’s 51-day siege.
TOLERANCE
If you complain long and loud to a Scientologist about your spouse, your boss, your church or your kids, the Scientologist may ask you an interesting question: “Have you done something they almost found out about?”
TOLERANCE
I’ve driven urban professionals, reformed criminals, burlesque dancers, angel investors, families with groceries, people with baggage. Some are in a hurry to get the hell out of wherever I picked them up from.
TOLERANCE
Laugh if you want, but he seriously felt like a friend. He came in the door singing. He changed his sweater and his shoes. He fed the fish. He dog-sat for a neighbor, got mail delivered, and showed me all around his neighborhood. He invited me to join him, via his trolley, in a land of make-believe.
TOLERANCE
I was, however, “open-minded.” Cue the air quotes, please. There is a difference between open-minded and “open-minded.” When one is simply and honestly open-minded, it indicates a willingness to try new things, to hear other viewpoints, in short, to learn something new and be OK with that.
TOLERANCE
Humankind at its finest sees a tree not as a green blob, but a Maple, its leaves individually defined, each one a bit different from the others—in all their variety and beauty, part of a larger and complex unity.