Wednesday, September 24

On September 24, 2008, Levermore Global Scholars visited the New York Tolerance to learn about the importance of tolerance and acceptance in today’s world.  Below is a reflection of the trip, written by Emily Dernbach.

Trip to the New York Tolerance Center

The New York Tolerance Center is not a very well know place.  However, I think that it is definitely a place that everyone should go to and learn from. I was shocked to find out some of the things that I learned that day. I did not realize that many of the issues that people were dealing with hundreds of years ago are still being dealt with throughout the world.

I have always known that I grew up in an extremely sheltered environment, but after going to the tolerance center, it made me realize that I was even more sheltered than I originally thought. So many of the issues that are debated about in our country—those "dire issues"—are really not as important at all.  It is often overlooked that a lot of people are in extreme danger and most of the world is completely blind to it.

The tolerance center made me realize how important it is not only to tolerate other people and their decisions on how to live their life (their beliefs, religions, sexual orientation etc.), but also to accept them for it and to try to understand why they live their lives that way—see things from their perspective. I have always been told not to be quick to judge, and I try extremely hard to keep an open mind, however, I think everyone would agree that sometimes we can't seem to wrap our minds around a certain issue, which in turn, closes us off from it.

I was only able to see a few of the exhibits from the tolerance center because of time constraints, and I definitely want to go back, but from those few exhibits, I was able to learn a lot and the pieces made me think of how the world is today. There are so many awful things going on that it almost makes you want to stop and give up, but that will solve nothing. We have to keep going, even if it is something little. The saying, "Think globally, act locally," means that if we start out around us, that little bit will better the world. It is so important, in the world we live in today, to do everything we can to help those less fortunate than us.

Some quotes I took away from the Tolerance Center:

"With every civil right there has to be a corresponding civil obligation" - Edison Haines

"The only queer people are those who don't love at all" -Rita Mea Brown

Written by Emily Dernbach, LGS Freshman
Edited by Yoko Liriano, LGS Freshman