A Message of Tolerance

For some time, I’ve had a Holiday Gift Guide planned for today’s post, but it doesn’t feel right to lead off November with that, given how tumultuous the past week has been for Americans. So I am delaying the Gift Guide until tomorrow, and offering one person’s message of tolerance today, for what it’s worth.

Like roughly half the people in the U.S., I like to think I have empathy for my fellow human beings. I’ve often wondered where empathy comes from and like many things, it seems to be a mixture of nature and nurture. My daughter has it innately. At age 4, when one girl at a birthday party walked away from the piñata empty-handed, Natalie gave her some of her candy without prompting from an adult.

But nurture is hugely important too. People raised in tolerant, open-minded homes tend to internalize those values. Sure, the occasional individual veers away from the fold, and that works in the other direction too. Sometimes a person raised in a hateful environment breaks away once they see more of the world and realize we are all, generally, the same.

Tolerance in Fiction

My latest novel, Beautiful and Terrible Things, has strong tolerance and diversity messages. It depicts plenty of strife, because I wanted to portray life in an American city today, with all its social justice ills. But at its heart, it’s about the friendship between six very different indiviuals. They differ in heritage, race, sexual orientation, gender idendity, and of course personality. Together, they are a potent force and a reminder of what’s good in the world. Using fiction to reflect reality and inspire hope is important, I believe.

International Day for Tolerance

Also important is taking time out to reflect on what tolerance means and how we can create more of it. This Saturday, November 16, is the United Nations’ International Day for Tolerance. It’s a day for inspiring hope, and change, by recognizing “the mounting threat posed by those who strive to divide, and…to forge a path defined by dialogue, social cohesion and mutual understanding.” In the name of tolerance, please consider taking a minute to:

Educate – yourself and others, about an issue like racism or immigration or tolerance in general; this is easily done with an online search for websites, articles, videos, etc. on the topicDonate – to organizations supporting diversity and toleranceDebate – start a conversation with friends or maybe even start a dialogue with someone who seems different than you. Remember how some of that happened when the Black Lives Matter movement was at its height in the popular conscience? It can feel uncomfortable, but is well worth it in the end.And Now for Something Lighter

In honor of the U.N.’s International Day for Tolerance, author J. Ivanel Johnson put together an episode of her 4-minute “quadcast” focused on the diversity, love and acceptance messages in Beautiful and Terrible Things, which you can view here. Those important thoughts are presented in a fun, light-hearted and quirky video, with a chance to win a free ebook if you can tell which of four statements I make is fiction versus fact.

In Closing

I’m feeling a bit blue still, at the realization that so many of my fellow Americans support an agenda of hate. And I am just one person with one little point-of-view in this. But then I remember, I am not alone. We are not alone. I insist on remaining optimistic that healthier attitudes will prevail, but I am also realistic and understand that it may take generations, if we can manage to raise more tolerant children in the meantime.

Thanks for listening to my ramble, and please add a comment if you are so inclined.

The post A Message of Tolerance appeared first on S.M. Stevens.