In my youth, I remember being taught about tolerance by my late mother. However, back then it wasn't called that. It was just "mommy being mommy".
During my early elementary education my mother came to school one day to teach knitting. I was not going to have anything to do with that. That was for girls. One of the boys in my class wanted to take my mom's knitting lesson. I protested to my mother that it wasn't right for a boy to knit. My mom simply explained to me that if this boy wanted to learn to knit, she would not judge him. She would teach him. She explained it to me in a way that made sense. I accepted this fellow's choice to learn to knit and didn't think any differently of him. I asked myself if I wanted to learn to knit. I still wasn't interested, and mom and I were OK with that also. We didn't call it tolerance back then. We didn't call it anything, really. I really didn't think much more of this until it came time to write mom's eulogy.
I remember being taught about intolerance in my youth, as well. Being raised in Judaism, I had a Sunday School teacher who made it plainly clear to us that the world outside of our predominately Jewish neighborhood had different views of us. I recall hearing her tell a story where someone she met, (I forget where) who had never met a Jew before, asked her, "Where are your horns?" I remember seeing my grandmother cry in front of the TV set when watching the mini-series "The Holocaust". The book burnings had a strong effect on her. I now wish I could go back to that time and talk with my grandmother more about it. She was from Poland, I believe, and I don't know how close she was to such experiences. With my Jewish/Polish/German/Hungarian ancestry I do not doubt that I am within a few degrees of separation from someone who died in the Holocaust.
This past week, Senator Elizabeth Dole put out an advertisement which attacked her opponent, NC State Senator Kay Hagan, for meeting with a group of atheists and claiming that NC State Senator does not believe in God. Kay Hagan is a former Sunday school teacher. She does believe in God. She is rightfully upset about this attack as it simply is not true.
I am offended by this advertisement on another level. It speaks to intolerance. It says to me that if you are not of a certain religious belief then you are not suitable to serve in a job that has far more to do with representing everyone in your state on matters of economics, foreign policy, the environment and protecting people's civil liberties than it does religion.
Somewhere out there is a Schoolhouse Rock song about the "Great American Melting Pot". Growing up in New York City, visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and attending elementary school with an ethnically diverse student body I know that is a lot of what America is about. ("Bring us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free...")
Frankly, I couldn't care less about the religion (or lack thereof) of a politician. I am looking for someone who is going to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels for energy, protect the environment, balance the budget, stimulate the economy so that people can work and have a house they can afford, maintain and improve our infrastructure and keep Americans safe at home and abroad. (And get us out of places we don't belong.)
The issues of whether or not we should have "In God We Trust" on our currency and on the walls of our governmental buildings means far less to me. So much less that truthfully, as far as I am concerned, you can leave it the same or change it. It won't matter that much to me. Whether or not someone wants the pledge to read "one nation, under God" is not a big issue. And don't call me godless. And this is why...this is America. This country was founded by people that wanted to escape the religous oppression of the Church of England. It is currently populated by people of countless different ethnicities and religious beliefs. Wake up. You are free to practice your religion, or not practice any religion, however you choose. Having religion included as a part of a political discussion is for the most part a moot point. We have freedom of religion. That's all that matters.
Further along this point...think about how many wars and atrocities have occured in whole or in part in the name of religion...
The more I write, the more I am for the complete separation of church, synagogue, mosque, and temple from state.
