Political tolerance an evergreen issue

Dear Readers: I’ve briefly stepped away from my column to work on a new writing project. Today’s topic is: Politics and Tolerance. I’m struck by how the issue of how to tolerate an opposing point of view is evergreen.

Dear Amy: I find I need to make some changes. I try to be open-minded and to see people as humans first and not judge them by color, creed or educational background. I find that once I know people have sympathies with a political administration I don’t favor, then I’m apt to dislike them and am unable to appreciate other qualities they might have that I would find worthy. I feel very blocked want to know which doors I need to open in my own mind to work this problem through. — Closed-minded

Dear Closed Minded: I can’t open your mind — but you probably can. I love your question partly because — unlike many who write to me — you seem to want to change. (Most people want for someone else to change.)

You could try to do something I’ve been doing lately, and that is to consume roughly an equal amount of media leaning toward both sides of the political equation. It also helps to realize that no political side has a lock on obnoxiousness, hysteria or foolishness.

The essential truth is that everybody is different, people have a right to paint themselves in any stripe they choose, and your inability or refusal to see the person beneath the beliefs tips you toward the bigot side of the scale.

The most gracious and socially adept people I know always find a way “in” as a way to get to know someone. They dip beneath the surface, ask questions and listen to the answers. If you do this you’ll learn that even zealots have hometowns and favorite movies. Commonalities will trump differences. (May, 2009)