Learn to Respect Others’ Beliefs

I drive the 210 Freeway many mornings. I have seen many bumper stickers and license plate frames proclaiming ideas and opinions that range from the amusing to the asinine. Recently, I was behind a vehicle whose license plate frame read, “Truth not tolerance.” In three words, all this world’s bigotry, hate crimes, horrors of war and genocide, as well as almost every other wrong inflicted by human beings upon other human beings, was justified and rationalized.

Does it not occur to people that if you want your belief system to be respected, it is necessary to afford the same courtesy to people whose belief system is different from yours? Believers in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and all other faiths, even atheism, need to let go of the need to feel “I am better than everyone else,” stop looking for reasons to be offended and work to respect other belief systems.

Wendy E. Brown

Ontario