Tuesday; September 8

As we begin, let’s make sure we are on the same page about one thing – there is something known as absolute truth. There are some facts that cannot be disputed. There are some beliefs that must be accepted as unchangeable. However, beyond that, there are a lot of gray areas and issues open for discussion – and this is where our society often struggles.

One of the areas our society does not do as well as we could is empathy. In a world that touts tolerance, we struggle with empathy. Empathy is the attempt to see things through eyes of others. No, it is not about sharing feelings, its about trying to exchange perspectives. Each one of us has our developmental environment that differs from everyone else and these environments help shape who we are. Someone who grew up in Chicago in the mid-1960s is going to see life through different lenses than someone else who was raised in Central South Dakota in the 1990s. A person who was raised in a well-to-do conservative nuclear family is bound to have had different life-shaping experiences than someone who grew up in an urban single-parent household. A person who spent their adolescence and young adult years pursuing advanced degrees from a major university will have a different perspective than someone who has spent every day since their middle-school years working on a farm. No, there isn’t a right and wrong way to grow up; therefore, on most issues there isn’t a right and wrong way of thinking.
Tolerance begins with empathy. We may not agree (and, honestly, it might be best if we don’t agree) on everything. However, if we really want to advance as a society, it is important to respect each other and try to see things through someone else’s point of view. When we do, we are more apt to get along.

Think About It!

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