religion. thats right.religion. no other topic anywhere in the world can spark as much controversy as religion which is really surprising because the essence of almost all religions practised around the world is the same. all religions preach universal values of justice, compassion and equality. human beings murder fellow human beings in the name of religion.im very sure that no religion condones the use of violence especially aginst unarmed, innocent beings.tolerance is another virtue preached by all religions yet this is one quality that we as human beings,intelligent and supposedly rational beings are increasingly begining to lack.
forget talking about tolerance towards other cultures or races or anything big like that. just ask yourself a simple question. even in an argument with like minded individuals who share your background, how many of us can actually listen to something that is radically different from what we think? how many of us can say that we have never been dismissive of another person's ideas? how many of us can say that we have never shouted down another person in a friendly argument? our intollerant attitudes are reflected in our leaders. thats why there is so much conflict in today's world. in a recent article in the hindu(dated 9 aug 2006),jackie ashley says there is a battle of ideas going on in today's world and we cannot escape or walk away but we cant attempt to kill ideas with guns either. our basic intolerance towards other ideas and beliefs is what has made our world so scary and unsafe today.
intolerance has been the major reason for some of the greatest catastrophes in the history of mankind. wwII happend because of one man's intolerance towards the rest of the world. just imagine where our collective intolerance might lead us to?
forget talking about tolerance towards other cultures or races or anything big like that. just ask yourself a simple question. even in an argument with like minded individuals who share your background, how many of us can actually listen to something that is radically different from what we think? how many of us can say that we have never been dismissive of another person's ideas? how many of us can say that we have never shouted down another person in a friendly argument? our intollerant attitudes are reflected in our leaders. thats why there is so much conflict in today's world. in a recent article in the hindu(dated 9 aug 2006),jackie ashley says there is a battle of ideas going on in today's world and we cannot escape or walk away but we cant attempt to kill ideas with guns either. our basic intolerance towards other ideas and beliefs is what has made our world so scary and unsafe today.
intolerance has been the major reason for some of the greatest catastrophes in the history of mankind. wwII happend because of one man's intolerance towards the rest of the world. just imagine where our collective intolerance might lead us to?
