Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Religious Tolerance

To hear some pundits opine, the US is not a tolerant society. Homophobia, racism, religious conflicts, etc . . . But compared to the rest of the world, the US is by far the most tolerant society on the face of the earth. We can actually discuss religious topics without resorting to violence. Harsh words, accuastions, and so on we certainly have. But based on the reactions in Nigeria (which was once considered a shining light of Africa) to the presence of and comments about the Miss World Pageant, we are light years ahead of the Moslem world. Violence erupts very occasionally, and the episodes are few and far between. But the death toll in Nigeria is now over 200, and a journalist has had a death threat, issued against her by a political leader. Flawed though we are, we are the best, most diverse, most tolerant country on the face of the Earth..