On Tolerance

Some of you may know that I spend a bit of time floating around and posting on what is known somewhat officially as the Bloggernacle. This is the world of Mormon blogging. I was introduced to it initially by my dad, although it was before the concept really existed. One day he showed me a site called "The Cracked Planet of Jeff Lindsay". I went back occasionally, and I would randomly read his blog, Mormanity, which I keep linked on our sidebar on the blog site.

A couple of years ago, I was talking with my room-mate, Lars, and he told me about his conversations with folks on some of the Mormon blogs. I returned to Mormanity, and one day noticed some of the other sites he linked, including Times and Seasons and By Common Consent (also linked on our sidebar). One day I posted something, and my sister Amanda called me and said, "Hey, do you post on some Mormon blog or something?" It turns out that one of the contributors to the blog was in Amanda's ward when she was on her mission in San Diego. Then, making the small world even smaller, on another day I had a commenter ask me, "Are you related to Meredith?" Turns out that this commenter, Bridget Jack Meyers, or Jack, as she is known among friends and family, was my sister-in-law Meredith's room-mate at BYU. Crazy!

All of this blogging has introduced me to a lot of really awesome people who have a lot of really awesome viewpoints. Perhaps what makes it the best is that not everyone agrees. I love it when there is disagreement, because it forces us to discuss and interact. Cognitive dissonance isn't always overcome, but I believe that we can bridge the gap. An interesting side note is that even when we bridge a gap, the gap is still there. The bridge merely allows us to move beyond the gap. The question has recently been asked: What is the point of all this discussing, interacting, and attempting to bridge the gaps? This is my answer, adapted from what I had posted here.

I can't speak for all everyone. I probably can't even speak for just my household, since my wife is still asleep, but she would probably agree with me on what it is we want from discussing, interacting, and attempting to bridge gaps.

I speak from the personal experience of growing up with a group of extremely religiously and politically diverse friends. Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Mennonite, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, Jehovah's Witness, non-denominational Evangelical, First Assembly of God, and Mormon. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, liberals, conservatives, moderates, apathetics. We all hung out together. We talked about life. We talked about philosophy. We talked about the world's problems. We talked about the environment. We talked about how to fix the world. Imagine Marius Pontmercy and his friends discussing things around a table in the corner of a small cafe, and that was pretty much us, except our table was in the high school cafeteria or at places like Hardee's and Subway.

And, of course, we talked about religion and politics. A lot. Probably far more than most young people did and do. I have heard people say that the two topics they will never discuss with others are religion and politics, because such discussion only bring about discord. While this is often the case, it is not always the case. It certainly wasn't for my friends. Despite our differences, we are still friends. Many of us still get together at least once a year, usually around Christmas. Somehow, we found a way to be different and still be friends. So when someone asks me, "What is the point of all this?" My answer is, "The point is to see if we can have what my friends and I have."

Love. Respect. Patience. A desire to understand one another. Taking the best of what we each had to offer and sharing willingly. Recognising that we are all individuals, and none of us deserve to be painted with the broad brush-strokes of stereotypes. The acknowledgement that, while our various faith traditions may ultimately be at odds with one another, there is no reason for us to be at odds with with one another. And, perhaps at the very end of the day, I want everyone to realise that we don't need to be fighting. Dare I quote Paul? I do. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

That's what I want. Let's stop accusing each other of being the evil rulers of darkness. Let's work together. Yes, we have differences. I proselytize my friends when I tell them about my Mormon beliefs. They proselytize me when they tells me about their Evangelical beliefs. If we choose not to accept each other's beliefs, so be it. It really isn't the end of the world. My life is not solely focused on convincing everyone that I am right and they are wrong. I am pretty certain that this isn't the case for others, either.

I am reminded of the wisdom shared by a good friend of mine in passing. He is a liberal, and tends to vote for Democrats. I am a conservative, and tend to vote for Republicans. This is not always the case, but it is the tendency we each have. He once said, "You know, Alex, you and I both have the same goals. We just approach them from different angles." How true that is! Tolerance, understanding, and bridging isn't about proving who is right and who is wrong. It is about recognising that we have the same goal in mind. We won't always agree. In fact, we may end up disagreeing more than not. But there is never a good reason to be disagreeable. And at the very end of the day, when all is said and done, what I want is more civility.