Tolerance Towards Others

Tolerance- tolerant people have a positive view of reality, thinking that different lifestyles and beliefs are all equally valid. They accept that there are different beliefs in the community so are able to tolerate them.

Appiah describes this tolerance as becoming more cosmopolitan, which is to have a wider understanding of other cultures and then be more understanding of their differences. As Appiah gives an example where he writes, “People are disgusted by the idea of drinking orange juice that has a cockroach in it, even if they know the cockroach was rigorously cleaned of all bacteria by being autoclaved in advance” (662).We need to understand how cultures have values and that certain actions are deemed taboo and that many cultures agree those actions taboo, but, there are other cultural actions that are everyday life for those who are raised in that society such as, eating cats, or even eating a red pepper on a Wednesday. According to Kwaine Anthony, “Cosmopolitans suppose that all cultures have enough overlap in their vocabulary of values to begin a conversation. But they don’t suppose that we could all come to agreement if only we had the same vocabulary” (664). I do feel if we had a universal language there would still be difficulties. Even if we set aside our language barriers we cannot set aside our culture, our values, and our blood deep belief system, a “cosmopolitan” society may still be a long way

It was this refusal that caused its practice to be illegal and those who chose to stick with the faith were prosecuted. Although people were being killed for practicing, Christianity started to become even more popular. After seeing Christian martyrs risk their lives for the sake of Christianity, many Romans were compelled and attracted to the faith. Also, there were Apostles who traveled around the empire spreading the message of Christianity. Then in 312 CE, Emperor Constantine proposed the Edict of Milan that banned all laws against Christianity. That allowed people to freely worship, without the fear of harsh punishment. He eventually converted on his deathbed. Then in 392 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome. Christianity went from being an illegal religion to the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Tolerance is very important in today’s American society and also in Africa’s society. Even though we live across an ocean, tolerance is as important to our society as it is to theirs. Tolerance is the ability to tolerate how someone thinks, looks, and acts. In 2 of the short stories read in class tolerance is one of the main themes and focus points in the story. In “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe, a new headmaster of a school Michael Obi tries to westernize the school and in doing so he shuts down a sacred path for the towns people. Also, in “The Quarry” by Alan Paton, a young boy named Johnny Day climbs this massive quarry and people of all races and ethnicities try to help this young boy get down. Tolerance is very important in

From the first emperor, Augustus, to emperor Constantine, Christianity was illegal. During that time Romans practiced the Pagan religion which meant the persecution of Christians was legal. The emperor after Constantine, Theodosius, was the one who eventually legalized Christianity. This change caused much controversy and decline throughout the empire. The introduction of Christianity especially had a major influence of the decline of Rome.

In 303 C.E according to Gaddis (2005), Emperor Diocletian ordered that all the Christian churches and scriptures to be destroyed. Furthermore, any Christian that held a rank in the government were to be dismissed. Diocletian was hopeful that these actions that he was taking would put an end to the Christians. However, once the decree was posted, many Christians were angered by this and were not about to give up so easily.

Constantine the ruler of the Roman Empire had been surrounded by many controversies during his reign (Cameron, 14). He was the son of a great warrior and he defeated Manutius a great ruler at Milia Bridge. He had gained much respect and admiration among the Romans as a fair ruler. He emerged as a ruler who supported Christianity and then became popular as a Christian ruler himself. His reign and victory over the Roman Empire is a significant event in the history of Christian religion. With the Edict of Milan in 313 Christianity was recognized as a religion, and the followers were free to practice Christianity without fear. It has been argued that Constantine failed to treat different religions equally as paganism (Cameron, 57). Constantine also sponsored churches, promoted Christians to high government ranks, exempted taxes for the clergy. In the latter days of his rule Constantine had a stricter approach towards Christianity and professed that there is one God, the Christian God. He rewarded building temples into churches. He played a key role in framing important church policies namely The Council of Arles, A.D. 314 and The Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325.

In contrast to the persecution experienced by early Christian followers, Christianity today does not experience the level of outward persecution. Christianity is practiced in an atmosphere nearly void of violence. It was not until the reign of Constantine when Christians were authorized to practice their chosen faith. The “Ediet of Milan”(313 A.D.), gave official recognition to the Christian faith, thus ending persecution within the Roman Empire. Before Constantine’s rule, there were many rulers eager to drive out the Christians. The Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.) established the first official policy relating to Christians and how they should be dealt with. Diocletion and the Apologists were the last of the persecutors in this era before Constantine. This marked the end of open persecution

Tolerance is the ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behavior that one dislikes or disagrees with. In the short story What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish? by Etgar Keret, a newspaper editorial: American Flag Stands for Tolerance by Ronald J. Allen, and Night by Elie Wiesel the characters in these passages had very little to no tolerance for at least one person or more. The quote “We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.” by Barbara Jordan, was supposed to refer to the passages because they both have one word that can fit with both of them which is tolerance.

I reached in my pocket for my pen so I could sketch some flowers. I pulled out a few dollars bills, and I remembered my mother gave me money so I could buy some milk for her. I turned around and went to the grocery. I went into the milk section, grabbed a jug, and headed to the checkout. The man in front of me in the line was staring at me. He looked at me like I was a vicious beast. I began to feel uncomfortable. The teenage brothers behind me were rough housing and when one threw a punch, they knocked me with their elbow. I couldn’t keep my balance. I went diving towards the ground, and I hit the man in the back with my nose. He fell to the ground, holding both his arms like he broke them. I got up and tried to help him up. He was backing up in fear saying, “Monster, you monster.” Everyone began to stare and back away from me, even the brothers. It was completely silent. I could hear my breathing. I heard one of the employees whisper to someone, “Call 911.” Then I bolted out the front door. I ran as fast as my little feet could go. In the corner of my eye I could see people behind me. They were catching up to me. At this point, I knew I couldn’t run any longer. I started to stumble and then, I felt a hand hook my shell. I went flying back. After that, the moment was surreal. I knew my mom was going to kill me, if the police don’t first. I don’t even remember much of it

A prevalent example of this ancient censorship was the execution of Socrates in 399 B.C.E., they feared that Socrates was corrupting the youth of Rome, particularly his students. In 213 B.C.E. Minister Li Si and Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China Ordered the destruction of most history and philosophy texts, because they wanted the people after him to believe that the world began with with his rein. Attempts to stifle ideas through censorship are a feature of societies, both primitive and advanced. The U.S. is no stranger to censorship. Over the last 20 years, books in use by libraries have been challenged over 6000 times (History of Book Censorship). Books have been banned for the most absurd of reasons, and I have included some of my favorites. In 2006 Charlotte's Web was banned in a Kansas school district because of its “Blasphemous and Unnatural” representation of animals with vocal capabilities. The Scarlet Letter was challenged on sexual grounds and has been called “pornographic” and “obscene” even though the book contains no sexual language or sex scenes. The Rabbits Wedding was banned from the Alabama state's library system because it

Tolerance is one of the most important principle of the development and construction of the United States of America. Tolerance creates a peaceful society, where people feel respected or valued. When the founding fathers established this country, women were not respected as they are today. To have tolerance, means to have a permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one 's own. Even though within tolerance there several discrimination acts. Sexism, a discrimination against gender, being one main subject that is still being fought today in several countries all over and across the world.

During the reign of Diocletian, Christians were severely persecuted because of their unwillingness to give up religion. Emperor Diocletian issued “The Edicts of Persecution” which were a series of laws that took away the rights of Christians and demanded them to comply with traditional Roman religious practices. The first edict ordered that churches be destroyed, Holy Scriptures burned and dishonored those who continued to work in a Christian profession and denied them freedom2. He later commanded that all the rulers of the churches in every place should be “first put in prison and afterwards compelled by every device to offer sacrifice”3.

During the first decades preceding Christ's death, Christians were tolerated but not really liked by the general population of the Roman empire due to their refusal to acknowledge the emperor as a living god. This act of defiance was considered heresy by the state .The real mass persecution of the Christian people came during the reign of the emperor Nero who needed a scapegoat on whom to blame the great fire during his reign.

In 313 AD the Emperor Constantine formally recognized the Christian religion. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, this event affected the way people thought and lived their lives. Had a great impact on how rulers viewed their power and used their powers. Such influence was portrayed in Christian art as we know today.