The Harmony of Tolerance
Chelsea Levo Feary | February 13, 2020
The farmer and the cowman should be friends,
Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends.
One man likes to push a plough, the other likes to chase a cow,
But that’s no reason why they cain’t be friends.
Territory folks should stick together,
Territory folks should all be pals.
Cowboys dance with farmer’s daughters,
Farmers dance with the ranchers’ gals.
These lyrics from a song from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma”, written in 1943, translate nearly 80 years later a song of harmony and a message of tolerance.
Tolerance is demonstrating respect for others who do not share my perspective.
In the musical “Oklahoma,” social issues, love, politics, and place were exposed and questioned. One critic said, “it questioned American attitudes while promoting American values…it preached tolerance, promoted dizzy passion, endorsed personal responsibility, and ultimately told us that although we might have been carefully taught to hate and fear, we still have the capacity to overcome, to love and embrace.” (Viertel, n.d.).
Today, we face the same themes of tolerance. Politics, religion, race, color, gender, education, and social status are just a few of the subjects we witness under the fire of tolerance every day. We are all different – and “different” does not mean “bad.”
Different is unique like fingerprints. Did you know that fingerprints, while each one is exceptional, are a unifying feature among humans? No other living being on this earth has a fingerprint. Think about that the next time someone is testing your tolerance. When tempted with intolerance due to differences, remember the person opposite of you also has fingerprints, which makes both of you human.
Differences are all around us, even in our own families. Everyone has “that” family member who will likely say something inappropriate at family gatherings. My children cringe when it happens. So, we have a code word we say to each other across crowded rooms to communicate our discomfort. It is a way to signal to each other our desire for tolerance in whatever was expressed or said.
Think back to a time you watched young children on a playground. They don’t base their decisions on who will push them in a swing or complete their Red Rover team by how they voted in the last election. When most things in life are taught from generations aged and wiser to the young and naïve, tolerance is an exception. Before our children are too exposed to the outside world, their innocence in expressing acceptance to others can be a great lesson to us a little too rooted in our opinions.
John F. Kennedy said, “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” Our values and codes of ethics are important even if others do not share our perspective. Tolerance is not compromising those things. Tolerance is demonstrating love and respect for all living things with humility and peace in the midst of our values and ethics.
The definition of love is to will the good of the other. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Reflecting back on the musical, “Oklahoma”, Laurie and Curly were in love but from different backgrounds; Jud Fry was dark and scary; Ado Annie was a little too eager; Ali Hakim was from another country; and Aunt Eller had an opinion about all of it. I’ll close with her reminder of tolerance in the song we started with:
I’d like to teach you all a little sayin’
And learn the words by heart the way you should
I don’t say I’m no better than anybody else,
But I’ll be darned if I ain’t jist as good!
