Since humans have walked the Earth, similar problems through the ages have emerged and also similar solutions have been posed. A late French philosopher believed that the remedy to all human wounds lies within one concept. Voltaire, a major thinker during the Age of Enlightment, believed that intolerance is the only cause of all problems on the planet and that there is a single path to the earthly paradise: tolerance.
There is no precise definition for intolerance, but many people see it as the violent disagreement with others simply because they are different, or have opposing ideas and beliefs. As intolerance branches out to various types, it may cause conflicts ranging from simple disagreements between individuals all the way to wars between countries.
As it encompasses religious, social, and cultural subcategories, intolerance can be said to be the main cause of the steaming worldwide status quo. Although the religious and social forms of intolerance play an unquestionable role in the universal tension, I believe that the cultural form of intolerance is the protagonist of this open-ended drama.
Each person in this world is brought up to believe and get used to certain sets of norms and values, that's to say one's own culture. Unfortunately, most people are brought up to adhere to their beliefs and customs and never hesitate to fight others' that contradict their own. It is normal that having faith in certain beliefs and values is synonymous to sticking to them at all times, yet intolerance occurs when "sticking" to one's culture turns into extreme inflexibility.
Western media, supported by the west's fossilized belief, stereotypes Arabs as primitive and terrorists. Middle Eastern media, driven by the old Arab-Israeli struggle, portraits all Jews as Zionists and America has launched the war against "terrorism" because it believes itself to be the one with the greatest culture and that it's its duty to spread it all over the world. People in general think twice before coming in contact with someone different from themselves because it was rooted in them to fear the different and that their own "breed" is the only safe and sane.
Islamophobia, anti-semtism, racial discrimination, sexism, ethnocentiricity and xenophobia are all caused by intolerance, they all make our lives a living hell, and following Voltaire's prescription to a better world, tolerance is the only solution. Accepting others and respecting them with all what they represent is the only way humans can live harmoniously.
2008
There is no precise definition for intolerance, but many people see it as the violent disagreement with others simply because they are different, or have opposing ideas and beliefs. As intolerance branches out to various types, it may cause conflicts ranging from simple disagreements between individuals all the way to wars between countries.
As it encompasses religious, social, and cultural subcategories, intolerance can be said to be the main cause of the steaming worldwide status quo. Although the religious and social forms of intolerance play an unquestionable role in the universal tension, I believe that the cultural form of intolerance is the protagonist of this open-ended drama.
Each person in this world is brought up to believe and get used to certain sets of norms and values, that's to say one's own culture. Unfortunately, most people are brought up to adhere to their beliefs and customs and never hesitate to fight others' that contradict their own. It is normal that having faith in certain beliefs and values is synonymous to sticking to them at all times, yet intolerance occurs when "sticking" to one's culture turns into extreme inflexibility.
Western media, supported by the west's fossilized belief, stereotypes Arabs as primitive and terrorists. Middle Eastern media, driven by the old Arab-Israeli struggle, portraits all Jews as Zionists and America has launched the war against "terrorism" because it believes itself to be the one with the greatest culture and that it's its duty to spread it all over the world. People in general think twice before coming in contact with someone different from themselves because it was rooted in them to fear the different and that their own "breed" is the only safe and sane.
Islamophobia, anti-semtism, racial discrimination, sexism, ethnocentiricity and xenophobia are all caused by intolerance, they all make our lives a living hell, and following Voltaire's prescription to a better world, tolerance is the only solution. Accepting others and respecting them with all what they represent is the only way humans can live harmoniously.
2008
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