Poke a Bigot in the Eye: Promote Peace and Tolerance
There has been a shooting at a Sikh temple, likely a hate crime. This closely follows the Batman shooting in Colorado. We live in a society that condones a lot of violent ideas. There are thriller movies and militaristic toys and tough-talking politicians. It should not be surprising that people surrounded by violent ideas come to think of violence as an acceptable way to solve problems.
Conversely, we do very little to teach people the skills of peace and tolerance. That's seen as weak, or unimportant, or a frill to be cut first at budget time. But lack of these skills costs us a great deal when families have a hard time holding together, and society is full of people attacking each other's basic rights and safety.
Does it bother you when people go berserk like this? Let's work on making the world a better place so that happens less often. You can ...
* Learn about the Sikh religion. They have been having problems in America, because they're different.
* Watch for interfaith activities. Spend time with people of different religions.
* Study tolerance and teach it to other people. Teaching Tolerance has many resources for this.
* Explore positive interaction such as marriage skills, peace skills, and conflict resolution.
* Use verbal self-defense to deflect hostile language and defuse disputes.
* Exercise virtues. Pick one a week to practice. Make your mind and your life more positive.
* Support anti-bullying programs at schools. They discourage violence and promote acceptance.
* Practice online activism; it's easy and these campaigns can make a difference. Change.org, Care2, and The Petition Site are a few good places.
* Strive to make sure people's basic needs get met, so they are less likely to break and then hurt each other. These include food, shelter, mental health care, and health care in general. Much of this can be aided by supporting good jobs. You can also practice a gift economy.
* Write, draw, or otherwise create something that shows healthy, happy interactions and/or peaceful conflict resolution. Here is my contribution, " Farm to Market." Consider setting tolerance as a theme if you host a call for prompts. Not a creative person yourself? Ask on crowdfunding if anyone else has relevant material available for sponsorship.
* Share a review or other recommendation for stories about peace skills, how-to books on tolerance, or other relevant materials that you have found useful. Gentle Fiction is a useful genre for peaceful reading.
* Tell people you love them. Reach out to friends and family. Resolve an argument. Make new friends. Go do something together.
What else can you think of doing to make the world a better place?