bigotry
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The Ignorance of Ignorance
“Not ignorance, but the ignorance of ignorance is the death of knowledge.” - Alfred North Whitehead My first year of teaching I had a realization that helped me throughout my years as a classroom teacher, and life in general. I was warned about Jimmy, my fourth grade student.
The Looper’s Patrick Phillips Tells Us What’s “OK” to Hate
Let’s assume that Phillips wouldn’t say about Jerry Seinfeld that the director of his latest comedy special is excited to work with him “in spite of his being Jewish” or that Herbie Hancock’s new music is great “once you get past the fact that he’s a Buddhist.”
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The Man Behind the Interfaith Solidarity March: An Optimist and Friend to All Faiths
“These international marches are not just ‘feel good’ events. This does matter and this does have the ability to bring peace and dissolve bigotry by extending understanding.”
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The Most Precious Thing
Nearly a thousand years ago a great army besieged a castle. Day after day, the army bombarded it with great boulders and flaming arrows. All roads and footpaths into and out from the castle were cut off, and the hidden underground tunnel had been found and filled with mortar and tar.
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The Old Jew: A Story About Wisdom
I had not told the old man that I was expecting my first child, but somehow he knew. And I never forgot.
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The Rabbi and the Bigot—A Story of Redemption
A few days later, the Rabbi found a package on his front walk containing anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi pamphlets and a card reading: “The KKK is watching you, scum.”
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The Religion of Humanitarianism
“My religion is humanitarianism, which is the basis of every religion in the world,” said Abdul Sattar Edhi, the late (1928-2016) Pakistani humanitarian and philanthropist whose eponymous foundation ran hospitals, shelters and orphanages throughout his country.
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The Sin Of Cain: Why Hatred Is Its Own Punishment
Unlike the bigot, you and I always have a choice.
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The Swastika in the Bathroom
You walk into the bathroom and a large, black graffitied swastika greets you. It’s big, it’s ugly and it exudes an almost living presence, defying you to respond in some way. You’re 11 years old, you have fifteen minutes to get back to class, you’re in a new school, you just started making friends, and you don’t want to rock the boat.
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The UN Deserves Better Than Arielle Silverstein
Working for the United Nations is an honor. The UN’s core values reflect a desire for a better, safer, freer society for all. Its charter includes the purposes “promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”
