Why Tolerance?

My wife and I watched and enjoyed The Hundred-Foot Journey the other night.  If you have not seen it, you should.  If nothing else, Helen Mirren’s portrayal of a posh restaurant madam is an interesting contrast to that of a conscienceless hired killer in RED.

I posted a comment about the movie in Facebook, earning a healthy number of likes and an even more impressive number of comments.  Many of the statements suggested that watching the film would be a good way to teach tolerance – and I agree.

But, as I’ve thought about this and the movie, I think that it’s not tolerance that is being illustrated by the characters, nearly as much as it is finding the human value of each other.

If we were in the habit of looking for the human value of each other, instead of taking offense to the perceived differences, then tolerance becomes passé.

It seems to me that teaching the value of people as the objective would be easier than teaching tolerance.

N’es pas?

3 thoughts on “Why Tolerance?”

  1. I agree with you. It is likely that everyone is an expert in certain filed. Teaching the value of people as the objective may enable us to bring other’s potential into full play, as is demonstrated in the film.

  2. Teaching tolerance is actually easier for our society then teaching others to embrace and value each others differences and cultures. As an educator, I am interested in the cultural differences that surround me and I teach not only my students but my children as well that learning about others makes you smarter and shows compassion for others and their making. For many others that teach tolerance instead of human values demonstrate and educate their young ones to deal with people’s differences by ignoring them or implementing your own values on others to make sure you are comfortable and they recognize what you stand for. Ingnorance isn’t very bliss.

    1. I’ve always believed that diversity is the strongest thread in any tapestry. The more we can embrace one another cultures, the more we begin to see one another as merely human. Human/ humanity is something that we all crave. Examining humanistic traits allows us to focus on our commonalities and appreciated our differences; such adds value and all any person desires is to be valued by others. So I concur, teaching value, rather than tolerance is the tool to build a more tolerate humanist environment. As educators, we will fare well if we impart value as a bridge to tolerance.

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