TOLERANCE- Responding with Respect
Some Reflections on the Crisis Facing the Human Family
Our world seems to be in crisis and unfortunately many of our leaders seem to react rather than respond to events. We seem incapable of responding to the growth in fundamentalism, tribalism and nationalism that seems to have grown in the early part of the 21st century. Partly, this is a result of our common failure to both understand history, the roots of our current patriarchal system and the lessons we could learn from history. In addition, we are operating from and utilising only a small proportion of our gifts. In common parlance we are 'playing with half a deck of cards' . We have relegated women and the feminine to an inferior and minor role.
We know that humanity is not 'programmed' for major change. We evolved over millions of years and consequently we are very good at managing small changes. Today our world is changing at an enormous pace. Modern technology is amassing vast amounts of information. Technology is changing rapidly and many of the old 'givens' are being challenged or made redundant. In such times humans are tempted to cling on to old ways or desperately seek certainty. This can give rise to a rise in fundamentalism. People try to deny the evidence of evolution, to cling to past certainties in politics, religion, culture etc. The 20th Century suffered from the rise of National Socialism, dictatorial communism and the collapse of colonialism and the ensuing birth pangs of new nations.
Many leading thinkers believe that humanity is on the brink of another evolutionary shift. We have gone through many other 'shifts' in our long 7 million year march. Examples are when we first walked on this planet, another major shift was our use of language and many others. A major shift occurred when our species walked and sailed out of Africa. Another major shift, and one many consider to be adverse, came around 10000 years ago with the birth of the patriarchal era. The new shift ,one of evolutionary consciousness, faces us with a new paradigm. We are all equal, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity etc. We will have to let go of the old paradigm, which has led to so much suffering, war and inequality . The human family lives on this small Blue Planet floating in the vastness of the expanding Cosmos. We need to get on with each other and respect our uniqueness and diversity.
However, as with all major change we can choose to react or respond. The current upsurge in extremism - in all areas of the world - is because many are reacting and not responding. This is not just applicable to so called 'extremists' but with many others - leaders, politicians, religious leaders etc. The world desperately requires us to dig deep and respond from our depth and not react from our fear. Compassion is much better than conflict and love is better than loathing. Failing to respect the beliefs and values of our brothers and sisters is not a wise approach. The duality Either : Or rather than the oneness of Both ; And is a false dichotomy. Every 'right' brings with it a corresponding 'responsibility.
My right to free speech is not absolute. I need to weigh it up against my need to respect others. Sometimes compassionate silence is the wiser response. Whilst we must take a stand against extremism that would harm others, we also need to be aware of our need to respect. We have to learn to live with difference. Our patriarchal era has led us to take up rigid stances and rigidity is almost always the wrong stance. It has led to some very unhelpful and morally incorrect statements, such as : My country right or wrong, my religion is the only one true way, Men are superior to women, White people are superior to other races etc
These immoral, inhuman and rigid views have led to war, ethnic cleansing, colonialism, apartheid and now religious intolerance and extremism.
We need to refect deeply and begin to respond more compassionately, intelligently and with deep respect.
We know that humanity is not 'programmed' for major change. We evolved over millions of years and consequently we are very good at managing small changes. Today our world is changing at an enormous pace. Modern technology is amassing vast amounts of information. Technology is changing rapidly and many of the old 'givens' are being challenged or made redundant. In such times humans are tempted to cling on to old ways or desperately seek certainty. This can give rise to a rise in fundamentalism. People try to deny the evidence of evolution, to cling to past certainties in politics, religion, culture etc. The 20th Century suffered from the rise of National Socialism, dictatorial communism and the collapse of colonialism and the ensuing birth pangs of new nations.
Many leading thinkers believe that humanity is on the brink of another evolutionary shift. We have gone through many other 'shifts' in our long 7 million year march. Examples are when we first walked on this planet, another major shift was our use of language and many others. A major shift occurred when our species walked and sailed out of Africa. Another major shift, and one many consider to be adverse, came around 10000 years ago with the birth of the patriarchal era. The new shift ,one of evolutionary consciousness, faces us with a new paradigm. We are all equal, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity etc. We will have to let go of the old paradigm, which has led to so much suffering, war and inequality . The human family lives on this small Blue Planet floating in the vastness of the expanding Cosmos. We need to get on with each other and respect our uniqueness and diversity.
However, as with all major change we can choose to react or respond. The current upsurge in extremism - in all areas of the world - is because many are reacting and not responding. This is not just applicable to so called 'extremists' but with many others - leaders, politicians, religious leaders etc. The world desperately requires us to dig deep and respond from our depth and not react from our fear. Compassion is much better than conflict and love is better than loathing. Failing to respect the beliefs and values of our brothers and sisters is not a wise approach. The duality Either : Or rather than the oneness of Both ; And is a false dichotomy. Every 'right' brings with it a corresponding 'responsibility.
My right to free speech is not absolute. I need to weigh it up against my need to respect others. Sometimes compassionate silence is the wiser response. Whilst we must take a stand against extremism that would harm others, we also need to be aware of our need to respect. We have to learn to live with difference. Our patriarchal era has led us to take up rigid stances and rigidity is almost always the wrong stance. It has led to some very unhelpful and morally incorrect statements, such as : My country right or wrong, my religion is the only one true way, Men are superior to women, White people are superior to other races etc
These immoral, inhuman and rigid views have led to war, ethnic cleansing, colonialism, apartheid and now religious intolerance and extremism.
We need to refect deeply and begin to respond more compassionately, intelligently and with deep respect.
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