Social Tolerance

Social Tolerance

Human civilization can be in different measured forms, the most common one being the distinction between rural and urban areas. Over the years, rural areas have been urbanized to cities. As a result, many people have migrated from different places, mostly rural, to urban centers. This, in turn, brings together people from different backgrounds. For these people to live together peacefully, they must be willing to tolerate the existence of practices, opinions, and behavior that they do not necessarily agree with. This is known as social tolerance.

Owing to the high rates of immigration into rural areas, social tolerance is significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Several reasons can adequately account for this. People living in rural areas mostly reside in their ancestral lands. This would mean that most of them are related and share a common ancestry. Therefore, their beliefs and practices are less likely to differ. On the other hand, urban centers are occupied by people from various societies, whose behavior and practices are expected to disagree at some point. Such cases would, therefore, require tolerance for peaceful coexistence to occur.

A lesser population generally occupies rural land as compared to the urban area. The result is that a lot of properties are available to the people. Since the land owned by people, or families, is vast, the distance from one household to another is excellent, meaning that the interaction between the people is limited to only a few numbers of times (Wirth, 2010). This minimizes the chances of conflict due to different views. However, the rapid influx of people into urban centers has gradually but significantly increased the population in these areas. All the available land has been occupied, and people are forced to live nearby. This is evidenced by the presence of several story buildings that are designed to make use of the little available land by allowing a considerable number of people to live so close to together on the same piece of land. In this case, the people are bound to interact regularly, and their different backgrounds definitely come into play. Tolerance becomes key in maintaining peaceful coexistence among these people.

Urban centers are usually observed to be bustling areas as most of the employment opportunities are offered there. People have different career paths, and at some point, there may need to work together. Taking a hospital setting, the doctors and nurses employed in a given hospital in an urban environment will definitely not be from the same background. There may be times when their opinions differ on something, but a conclusion has to be reached either way. Therefore, the people in that setting will be required to learn how to accept other people’s opinions or values even when they do not fully agree, provided that there is no or very little harm done. Rural areas do not buzz with as much activity. People would mainly work on their farms or sit at home and do something relaxing as a family. This minimizes the chances of conflict among the people due to opposing values or beliefs.

Politics has been and will continue to be known as a dirty game. Many conflicts have risen among people or groups of people due to opposing political views. The disputes may be so bad that they result in loss of lives and cases of insecurity. The main centers of politics are usually based in urban areas. Different political parties exist, and definitely, different people belong to various parties. As a way of ensuring fairness, democracy was introduced. However, even with freedom, everyone can’t agree with some things since the majority usually have their way. The remaining group, the minority, may not necessarily be happy about the decision made in favor of the majority.

Nonetheless, they will be required to tolerate the decision for peace to prevail (Lewis, 1966). Lack of tolerance will usually lead to conflicts, which may result in war and other nasty outcomes. Politics in rural areas isn’t as rampant, and more often than not, the people in the cities usually have similar political affiliations reducing the risk of conflict.

Urban centers bring together people from different races. Tolerance is critical in ensuring that they coexist peacefully regardless of their apparent differences. Many misconceptions exist about different races that may make people dislike others from a mixed-race and even engage in acts of racism. However, after proper interaction, it becomes clear that people do not behave in a particular way because of their race (Lewis, 1966). This realization enables people to embrace the cultural diversity that exists within the population, and even though some they may not agree on everything, they find a way to tolerate and live with that peacefully. Rural areas, because most of the people inhabit their ancestral homes, mainly have people from the same race. Tolerance is, therefore, not very much required in this setting.

Social tolerance is, without a doubt, prevalent in urban communities and is critical in maintaining peace within the said community (Wirth, 2010). However, it is essential to note that it is not limited to urban communities. Cases of tolerance also exist in rural areas and will definitely rise with time. This is because the population is growing at a fast rate, and living space in urban areas is becoming limited. Furthermore, retired individuals prefer to go back to the countryside to live a peaceful life. Some of them may decide to buy land in a rural area and build a house to enjoy the serenity in the area. This will bring together people from different places giving rise to the need for tolerance.

In conclusion, it is essential to note that tolerance is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it actually allows people to learn from different communities and helps them improve some aspects of their lives. Tolerance allows more interaction and therefore fosters unity enabling people from different backgrounds to work together for the benefit of the society.

References

Lewis O, (1959-1966). Culture of Poverty

Wirth L, (2010). Urbanism as a Way of Life.