Tolerance

“Tell us about the land of the many,” Matthew requested.

“Did you mean to say, please, Matthew?” Mary answered gently.

“Alright. Please tell us about the land of the many,” Matthew repeated.

“First, children, it was a country called, ‘From Many, One.’ It existed in the time before.”

“Before what?” Luke spoke up.

“Before we had to meet in secret, like this. Before The Order. When people trusted each other a lot more than they do now. When people used to live and let live. When people believed that many could live as one and live in peace. Back then, most people believed in something called tolerance. That it is possible to accept those who have different backgrounds or beliefs or happen to make different choices.

“You see, back then, the land of the many, as Matthew called it, was faced with a problem. It was a place that took pride in tolerating people, even those who were intolerant. In that country, most people believed everyone should have rights and freedoms, even those who used their rights and freedoms to work against the rights and freedoms of others.

“The intolerant believed some people were not worthy – simply because they believed in a different God, or called their God a different name, or worshipped in a different way, or because their skin was not the right color, or because they did not love the right way, or did not come from the right places, or did not have much money.

“The question was, what should the tolerant do about the intolerant? Especially knowing that if the intolerant got their way, in the end there would be no more tolerance. In the land of the many, the intolerant won. And here we are, meeting in secret, and talking about the time before tolerance was lost.

“As their country was being torn apart by the intolerant, the best the tolerant could do was hope their voices would be heard. Yet, the intolerant fought hard to have their say. Even when they were outvoted by the tolerant, the intolerant found ways to make sure their voices outshouted everyone else. The land of the many became the land of the few – those who held on to their power at any cost.”

“But what can we do now?” John asked.

“We can accept one another as we are. We can continue to learn to value differences and be tolerant of those who are not like us. We can love without expecting anything in return,” Mary offered. “And most of all, we must never give up. There will always be people who want everyone else to do things their way. We don’t have to be like that. We can respect others even when they don’t respect us.”

“That sounds hard,” John said.

“It is. It always was.”

“But the country of ‘from many, one,’ no longer exists. You told us so,” Luke pointed out.

“That’s true. But a little bit of that country lives on whenever we talk about the way things were or the way things could be. As you know, The Order dictates what religion we must practice and who must have control. Only ruling party members – those who have sworn the oath – may hold office. The Order can legally require our words, but not our hearts and minds. We can be tolerant, even when we are expected to be intolerant.”

“They arrested my uncle, Daniel,” Mark interjected. “Are they going to arrest you, Mary?”

“Maybe. But even so, I choose not to accept the intolerance of The Order. If I’m arrested, you might hear that I’ve been accused of practicing a non-approved religion, or being a non-approved person, of corrupting the minds of children, or even being an enemy of the state. Please, no matter what happens to me, try to carry on. Always question the authority of men who fear those who are different, who want to do away with differences to create order. Believe that the many can be one, that our differences make us who we truly are, that it is always better to accept and love than to reject and hate.”

Mary was interrupted by her door alarm. She pushed a button and ended the group call, protecting the children. As she turned to face the door, several armed men burst in and placed her in shackles.