Intolerance is cause of global hatred

A PICTURE speaks a thousand words. The heartbreaking pictures of children being killed in war zones are graphic examples of naked hatred gone berserk.

Intolerance remains unchanged, from the times of Christ (PBUH) to the current year, our intolerance has never diminished. Intolerance means not enduring what you dislike, and seeking to harm it, whether you are persecuting someone, prohibiting a practice, or punishing a set of beliefs.

Our long embrace of intolerance, and of violence, is present not only in our recent history, but stretches back to our prehistoric past.

We forget at our peril the demagogues of yesteryear and their insane followers who claim privileged insight into the masses but ended up crushing the individual.

In this cauldron of discontent, humans fail the tolerance test, whether it’s racial, religious, ethnic or political tolerance, resulting in mayhem and massacres. If we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed and tolerance with them.

Intolerance is the chief cause of global hatred and a political virus that is toxifying humanity at an alarming pace breeding new strains such as deadly facism. This dangerous trend threatens to reverse the accomplishments of the global human rights movement. Every human being has a responsibility to respect others and to recognise their divine right of existence regardless of religious beliefs.

It is crucial for all the leaders on our planet to unequivocally declare all forms of intolerance as a deadly threat to world peace and a serious crime against all of humanity.

We should thus claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.