Tolerance

 

 

A very misunderstood word

To most if not all

And the concept even worse

Is this term so called.

 

In these pluralistic times

Tolerance is on every lip

Yet the more we publicize it

The more it eludes or grip.

 

Its definition is very narrow

And particularly individualized,

It is defined by person or group

I have come to realize.

 

What tolerance means to one

Is totally different from another

And, as a matter of fact,

Therein lies the bother.

 

Its opposite is intolerance

But then again, you knew

Yet tolerance is only regarded

When it comes to your own view.

 

Tolerance is now synonymous

With self and selfishness,

My position must be tolerated

For my position is the best.

 

Tolerance is one way

It is not about to and fro,

Don’t even mention reciprocation

Tolerance is a one-way flow.

 

You accuse me of intolerance

Yet you do not tolerate me,

I may be guilty but so are you

I know you won’t agree.

 

 

Tolerance is not in agreement

But agreeing to disagree,

Doing so in an agreeable way

And not in hostility.

 

It is more about persons

Not necessarily about ideas,

So you can still be my friend

Though I don’t see it your way.

 

Tolerance is now a misnomer

The practice is now extinct

And some will even take your life

If you so much as blink.

 

If you call me intolerant

Perhaps, you are as well,

Since it takes on to know one

I am sure you can tell.

 

I am not going to celebrate

Your difference in opinion with me

But we can share mutual respect

And disagree agreeably.

 

If two agree in everything

One might be a fool,

Afraid to have a personal view

He is the other’s tool.

 

Tolerance in disagreement

Means a door is still open,

Once dialogue is possible

Tolerance is a token.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019