Tolerance...

In my mind, the most pressing issue facing humanity today is intolerance.
For centuries, there have been several characteristics, such as religion, color, caste, sexual orientation, nationality and race that have differentiated people. Heeding to their survival instincts, people of similar affiliations have clung together. Though this has helped to bring together and unite similar peoples, this has also served to deepen the chasm between different segments of society.

People have become more comfortable with individuals of their own color, religious affiliation or nationality and consequently, less tolerant of people who are ‘different’. Tribal clashes in Africa, the Arab-Israel conflict and the Cincinnati riots of 2001 bear testimony to the rise of intolerance. Intolerance results in negative emotions, thoughts and actions, which ultimately work to the detriment of society.

Intolerance breeds suppressed animosity towards people in the community and at the workplace. This has the effect of decreasing workplace productivity and generating an environment of apprehension in society, which in turn affects the peace of mind and quality of life of individuals.

Intolerance results in potential propagation of hate towards other peoples. Energies begin to be channeled towards activities that are destructive in nature. Such acts of violence that hamper people’s everyday lives and result in property and material losses have a huge impact on the economy of a nation.

Intolerance fosters further intolerance from target groups. When the majority begins to show poor tolerance levels towards the minority, the minority group retaliates with a similar measure of intolerance. Thus, society gets into a vicious cycle of negative emotions and drain of energy that can be constructively used for the progress of mankind.

Intolerance prevents us from looking at the big picture. It prevents us from thinking about the millions of underprivileged citizens of the world who have do not have access to two square meals a day, sufficient clothing and basic amenities such as drinking water and electricity. It dissuades us from harnessing the collective energy of men and women to work on initiatives to improve the quality of life of fellow human beings, a key facet of human existence.

Class struggle and consequently any struggle between peoples of different segments is inevitable. However, just by limiting the amount of time spent on antagonistic thoughts, emotions and actions, mankind has a lot to benefit. Hence, the need of the hour is to increase our tolerance levels in society.