"As a Jedi you do not need to agree with someone's religion, their nationality, their career choice, their dress or anything else for that matter. Tolerance is not about agreement, it is about showing respect for the freedom of a persons choices and to respect their choices, until it reaches a point in which a reasonable person would consider the individual's actions as a/an (emotionally, spiritually, financially, and/or physically) abusive threat to you or another person." (Jedi Compass, Tolerance)
Tolerance is a shield which protects against hostilities. - ExiledWarrior
Everyone in life has something that annoys us. Some are a lot easier to tune out than others. Accepting that these quirks are outside of our control is the first step in accepting someone as a human being. It also gives you an opportunity to clear the air against hostilities.
Too much Tolerance, or wrongly applied Tolerance, can quickly render its practitioner a slave, to another, to conditions, or even to oneself, depending on where the conflict in its application is found. -Raz Vo Zhin
In the world around us, there seems to be a solid push for tolerance from everyone, but it only acknowledges one side. In a world where the “Us vs. Them” mentality extends to various factions of nationality, gender, sexuality and other concepts of identity, it seems that tolerance only extends to those that fit into a person’s ego. The idea that you should accept me for who I am, but I don’t need to accept you is widely communicated in this ideology. A Jedi should work to separate themselves from the mentality that even those who don’t agree with us have equal value as human beings. Even if we completely disagree with their stance. But there are ways to approach these problems.
Decide whether or not the argument is worth your time and effort. If it’s just a hobby of yours to jump into a discussion because it’s something you enjoy, then you have still defined that there is some form of value to engage them. Only you can decide whether or not you want to invest the time it will take for either of you to get anything out of the exchange.
When you disagree with someone, first accept that you will not be able to change their view. They have different experiences than you have, and unless you know everything about their experiences in the sense that an omniscient being would, you will never have the capability to combat those experiences. Recognizing this is, oddly, the first step in working towards a possible solution that will help them change their mind.
Discuss with them why they feel the way they do, never belittling them. No argument can be defeated, unless you fully understand the argument. Nothing illustrates this better than a recent discussion on a Facebook page called Jedi Church (the Original) with a man that was quite anti-religion. He came in and attempted to turn people from Jediism by stating the obvious: we were inspired by fictional works. Despite his efforts to tear the Jedi Path in half, he never once read the Jedi Compass (and we all tried our best to link him to it), so he could begin to understand who we are. In the end, he made himself look more a fool as he continued to argue against something he never once learned about. Just the same, if you do not take the time to learn about your opponent’s views, you may as well hang up your coat and go home. At that point, you’re just in the conversation to hear yourself talk.
Know when to give up. You can talk until you are blue in the face, and some people just will not let up. Sadly, even after the individual at Jedi Church was banned, another member engaged him for a few days attempting to help him understand that his views of us were not tempered from a stance of understanding. Skillfully, this man countered every argument the anti-religion man had. But by the end of the week, the guy did a video on Youtube still using the very argument that was shown to hold no water. Some people will not change their views, and there needs to be a point when you recognize the conversation is going in circles. If you are on a public forum, you might justify continuing the conversation in hopes that someone will learn something from your exchange. But in fact, this is not the case. Know that you tried, and hopefully you learned something about the other person.
In 2016, the Jedi Community had a huge rift within it. A lot of the problems stemmed from an idea that anyone who is Jedi could only take one side in the political spectrum. In particular there was a belief that all Jedi should stand on the side of staying with the European Union, and anyone that voted in favor of Brexit were not truly Jedi. This also happened in the United States, where it was believed that Jedi would only be in favor of Bernie Sanders and later Hillary Clinton when he lost the primaries.
The problem with this, is that neither side is a Jedi answer, for there is no Jedi answer. We can all look at evidence and come to different conclusions. The Jedi Path embraces being objective- and recognizes that all will have their own opinions on what is best for society. There is an amount of flexibility afforded to this path that might not be present in other religious or philosophical institutions. Tolerance means acknowledging that your view is not the only one that has value, but that your view has the most value to yourself, and others may disagree.
It is important that we understand that extreme observance of tolerance is that it can harm people, and must be balanced with a measure of intolerance. Tolerance for extremist mindsets, for example, is one that a Jedi should not abide by. Allowing someone to self-destruct into a bottle harms themselves, and is something that you may decide is something worth fighting against, in order to fight for the person self-destructing.
For your assignment write about three beliefs you hold as non-negotiable, which do not have anything to do with non-negotiable legal complications. For example, many of us hold the belief that premeditated murder is wrong, these aren’t the kinds of beliefs we are asking for. But you might talk about your beliefs on abortion or the topic of God. Consider how you act around people that do not hold the same belief as you, and how you might be able to deal with the situation is the most respectful way possible.
May the Force light your path.