Saturday, December 22, 2007

Tolerate This

Tolerance…….

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Function: noun

Date: 15th century

1: capacity to endure pain or hardship : endurance, fortitude, stamina

2 a: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own b: the act of allowing something : toleration

3: the allowable deviation from a standard; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece

4 a (1): the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult especially with repeated use or exposure tolerance to painkillers>; also : the immunological state marked by unresponsiveness to a specific antigen

(2): relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor b: the maximum amount of a pesticide residue that may lawfully remain on or in food

I am by no means an English professor, however everything I was required to tolerate was not very pleasant. Number two above does not put me in a positive frame of mind towards someone’s beliefs.

I tolerated boot camp, because it was a means to an end.

We tolerate government because we have to, at least until the next election.

We tolerate everything Mother Nature can throw at us, because well….what option do we have?

Is tolerating another race, religion or set of beliefs really the way we handle the world? Maybe if we appreciated these peoples, rather than tolerated them it would change the perspective in with which we view or surroundings. Having an interest or understanding in another person’s beliefs makes it more likely for one individual and another to coexist without strife. This would be appreciative in my mind rather than tolerating someone else. In the U.S. we have so many different ethnicities, religions and beliefs systems it is amazing what one can learn if you change your perspective from tolerance to appreciative.

The Blue Lizard has rambled enough………your thoughts??????????

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