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Why global tolerance?

In today's society tolerance is a trait that many people fail to possess, yet the need for it is something of real importance to the world we’re currently living in, given the vast range of cultures and religions that surround us as citizens today. Tolerance is essential to the development of becoming a global citizen, having a greater understanding of what’s actually going on around us, which includes displaying a higher level of respect to one another.

Tolerance is something most people find hard to comprehend. There are those who feel it’s somewhat shallow, overused and frequently misused, that it’s built upon assumption and doesn’t allow for people to come to their own interpretation other than forcing acceptance. I would argue that this isn’t the case, that there is a place for tolerance on the world stage. You may not agree with a certain decision, an opinion or a thought but with a little tact you learn to tolerate it and get by.

Living in an era of multiculturalism tolerating is something we do best, it’s the stepping stone to generating a dialogue between different cultures, learning new ideas and concepts that we may dismiss at first. But with time we adapt to them and respect that way of living, we ask questions and challenge ideas, we develop our knowledge and we create a shared understanding of values.

It’s about bridging gaps between communities and traditions, respecting one another’s individual beliefs and building a greater global tolerance, that will one day lead us down the right path to answering many of the social injustices that plague our society today.
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Are We a Lost Generation?

The big statement that is floating over the heads of many young people today is whether we are a ‘Lost Generation.’ Personally, I would argue against this, the reason being that the generation of young people coming through is better equipped to be more successful, than those who state that we are a ‘lost generation.’

There is a shift in movement and in understanding where you now see, many young people opting to not follow society but become independent at a very young age. A lot more younger individuals are now becoming more mature at an earlier stage in life, thus allowing them to make important decisions which many would have thought was not be possible at such a young age.

The so called ‘lost generation’ has seen a change which now suggests that even university degrees are no longer important. Yet we go on to provide growth for the economy with many young individuals being either self employed, entrepreneurs and then going on to become millionaires!

So I actually think the ‘lost generation’ is quite frankly the ‘generation’ before us, as they cannot accept that the generation coming through has far superior knowledge and understanding of the modern economy, technology and the shift in power than those who have stumbled up on and failed to avoid a global recession!

Another factor concerning today’s youth is whether we have what it takes to fight against all the doom and gloom surrounding us. Well I say...Nothing is impossible to do or accomplish in this world! Yes, economic growth does take time. But it’s always about looking at positive ways in which it can be mended, rather than accusing the generation coming through that ‘we are not good enough.’ The argument we put forward is that, we would have not even caused it!

The youth of today has access to pretty much all educational material out there, to learn, to understand and to challenge decisions made which have proved to be costly. This is something which wasn’t available to the generation that have caused this mess! So, already we are one step ahead of them!

You now see many individuals develop unity and togetherness, compared to governments accusing each other of problems caused. Whereas working together to fix the problem would be the easier solution!

A very strong message I give to young people coming through is that, anyone is capable to being extraordinary. Whether you want to be an entrepreneur, a doctor, musician or you just want to follow your dreams. It’s all possible! But the only person stopping you from achieving anything is ‘yourself.’ So it’s a matter about ignoring what others say about you personally or a generation as a whole!

It’s time we step up and show the belief and character! Because anytime they ask whether we can fix the mess, we'll respond: “ We won’t just fix it, we’ll leave a legacy!”
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