Showing posts with label tolerance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tolerance. Show all posts

April 3 – Weed Out Hate: Sow the Seeds of Greatness Day

Posted on April 3, 2016


I just discovered WeedOutHate.org. It was created by a Jewish man, Marc Daniels, whose grandfather had invented a root feeder, an irrigation tool that allows people to nourish the deepest roots of trees and shrubs. Daniels himself worked for decades in the green industry and studied gardening trends and ecological affects of gardening. He's taken what he knows about gardening and transformed it into an effort to make modern society more peaceful and loving.

And he calls it Weed Out Hate.

Daniels's website talks about inequality, prejudice, bigotry, and hatred as weeds that can be discovered and pulled up . He talks about kindergarten-age kids as the “social architects of tomorrow,” and he tries to reach them with his message about weeding out hate for all generations.

And of course he talks about sowing seeds, too – seeds of freedom and of social justice, of peace and of greatness.


One great idea for celebrating this day is to pass out seeds
with a positive message about peace and tolerance.

Daniels looks to people like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Oskar Schindler for inspiration. As a matter of fact, today's celebration is on April 3 because it is the anniversary of Martin Luther King's “Mountaintop” speech. On this date in 1968, King gave a famous speech that ended with these stirring words:

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”

(Aside from the fact that King's speech was amazing, people have thought of it as prophetic; he was assassinated the very next day.)

Other days that the Weed Out Hate organization honors include Dr. King's birthday in January and Earth Day, which is later in April. But of course EVERY day is a good day to weed out hate and sow seeds of peace!

We've never needed the message to weed out hate more than this year, with politics bringing up so many hateful messages that have been blasted all over our televisions and social media. Remember to look for the candidates who don't tolerate intolerance, who encourage the best in us, who don't pander to the worst in us!




Also on this date:





























Conservationist John Burroughs's birthday






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October 3 – National Diversity Day

Posted on October 3, 2014

(First Friday of October)


What does diversity mean?

Diversity means variety – or a wide range of differences. A place with a lot of bio-diversity has many different sorts of plants and animals, and a nation with a lot of diversity has people with heritages from all over the world...Perhaps people who speak a wide range of languages, eat many different foods, celebrate many different holidays, have many different customs, and follow different religions or have different sorts of world views. No matter what their race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, people are people – and they are all deserving of tolerance and acceptance.

Tolerance of diversity is not necessarily an easy thing. You may think that someone's political or religious views are wrong – and in some situations, it's okay to tell that person about your disagreement, even to debate the issues – but you should still be able to get along with that person, accept that he or she has a right to hold those opinions and beliefs, agree to disagree.

Some people easily accept diversity, but don't like the ideas of mere “tolerance.” I mean, can't we do better than just putting up with one another? Can't we actually respect one another's beliefs, and celebrate each other's differences?

Actually, not always. We can say the words “I respect everyone's world view” – but then when we see someone believing every foolish thing ever thought up by hucksters and charlatans, we don't actually FEEL respect for that person's gullibility (which means willingness to believe foolish things). We might say that of course we respect every religion, but then find ourselves laughing at the belief that the dictator of a Galactic Confederacy brought billions of his people to Earth in a spaceship, stacked those beings around volcanos, and killed them with atom bombs – and, whoops! That story sounds like fun science fiction, but one of the world's religions teaches that it is true!

So I do not think we can necessarily promise to respect and celebrate every difference. Instead, we should make a commitment to accept and tolerate diversity.

Being intolerant of intolerance...and hating hatred.

Another tricky part of tolerance is what to do when people's beliefs hurt other people. Obviously, we cannot allow someone to steal beat up other people, even if he claims that he is doing so because his god commands him to do so. We surely cannot allow someone to steal from others, even if she claims that, in her world view, there is no such thing as ownership, and therefore it's not stealing. We also cannot allow people to insult others, shame others, or otherwise psychologically harm others, even if they have some sort of “but it's my BELIEF!!” excuse.

But it is hard, sometimes, to figure out who's really hating on who, because people can be sort of sneaky with their insults. I try to remember, “Criticize the belief, not the believer.” Even if someone is being racist, try to remember to complain about the specific racist behaviors and words, and not to get personal. “That was an unfair, racist thing to say!” – not “You are a lousy excuse for a human being!”


Also on this date:




























World Smile Day 







Francisco Morazan Day in Honduras





Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And here are my Pinterest boards for:

November 16, 2009


International Tolerance Day

The United Nations has declared this a day to talk about and work toward tolerance.

Enjoy these wise words about an important idea:

"World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor -- it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement." ~ John F. Kennedy

“The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.” ~ Ralph W. Sockman

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

"Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival." ~ Rene Dubos, Celebrations of Life, 1981


UNESCO's Declaration of Principles on Tolerance defines tolerance as "respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, communication, and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Tolerance is harmony in difference."

Take the Tolerance Pledge, found at Tolerance.org: "I pledge to have respect for people whose abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or other characteristics are different from my own."

Try a tolerance activity.