Il Fatto Quotidiano by Mario De Maglie
Worse than the intolerance of the intolerant there is only the intolerance of the tolerant. The former are usually defined as such by popular verdict, while the latter by self-celebration. We love to think of ourselves as good, better, different, but our relationship with diversity is quite selfish and superficial. Diversity is not only the prerogative of others, but we inevitably bring it into dowry as we meet each other. The human condition is relational: in dialogue, the human being lives to its fullest potential, becomes fruitful, meets contrast and equips himself with the necessary tools to cope with it, training spirit, intellect and ability.
Thinking about others differently and thinking about them differently are parts of the same coin, they are the balance necessary to not fall into forms of hatred, racism and envy that destroy relationships. Diversity does not mean better or worse: believing it means starting from our point of view, but staying still, losing the other or better denying its value. Your point of view is a starting point, certainly, but not a point of arrival: the point of view of the other is to be, on a journey that makes learning and growth your traveling companions. At the other I arrive if I move towards him or if he moves towards me, in a process that both actors can facilitate or hinder, otherwise the distance does not cease to be what keeps us away and unknown: we know that it is just what you don't know to scare. The darkness that hides everything is one of the oldest human fears: the fire, which not only heats but illuminates, has allowed man to evolve.
Going to meet does not mean adhering to, homologating, canceling out, but emphasizing one's individuality without feeling threatened. It is diversity that makes it shine and transforms it into...
a bridge that we can cross and that is capable of bearing the burdens of life. Meeting other ways of thinking means evolving one's own: when I accept what the other person brings me, I must not make it mine, but I must make my awareness that what I think and feel has equal dignity than I think and feel, to provided that it does not turn it into harmful actions towards oneself or others.
The other is continuous confrontation: in identity I find myself, but I do not change; I reinforce myself, but I stiffen, I learn to be enough, and consequently to content myself. Conflict operates in diversity, but the alignments in the field must have equal forces because in diversity we do not have a winner and a loser, it is not a war, but a rebalancing of forces, a tendency not to go above things, but beyond things .
We are generators of meaning, not mere receptors. The ongoing challenge is to understand how much of what we attribute to the other is only a projection of ourselves, of what we feel. Understanding the border means respecting its being foreign to us in its authenticity. The other is my enemy to the extent that he sees me coming with bellicose intentions and if it is true that I am too, to the extent that I see him coming to me with as many intentions, sometimes it is necessary for one of them to stop attacking because the other ceases to defend itself.
https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2019/08/21/peggio-dellintolleranza-degli-intolleranti-ce-solo-lintolleranza-dei-tolleranti/5394849/
translated by google translate
Worse than the intolerance of the intolerant there is only the intolerance of the tolerant. The former are usually defined as such by popular verdict, while the latter by self-celebration. We love to think of ourselves as good, better, different, but our relationship with diversity is quite selfish and superficial. Diversity is not only the prerogative of others, but we inevitably bring it into dowry as we meet each other. The human condition is relational: in dialogue, the human being lives to its fullest potential, becomes fruitful, meets contrast and equips himself with the necessary tools to cope with it, training spirit, intellect and ability.
Thinking about others differently and thinking about them differently are parts of the same coin, they are the balance necessary to not fall into forms of hatred, racism and envy that destroy relationships. Diversity does not mean better or worse: believing it means starting from our point of view, but staying still, losing the other or better denying its value. Your point of view is a starting point, certainly, but not a point of arrival: the point of view of the other is to be, on a journey that makes learning and growth your traveling companions. At the other I arrive if I move towards him or if he moves towards me, in a process that both actors can facilitate or hinder, otherwise the distance does not cease to be what keeps us away and unknown: we know that it is just what you don't know to scare. The darkness that hides everything is one of the oldest human fears: the fire, which not only heats but illuminates, has allowed man to evolve.
Going to meet does not mean adhering to, homologating, canceling out, but emphasizing one's individuality without feeling threatened. It is diversity that makes it shine and transforms it into...
a bridge that we can cross and that is capable of bearing the burdens of life. Meeting other ways of thinking means evolving one's own: when I accept what the other person brings me, I must not make it mine, but I must make my awareness that what I think and feel has equal dignity than I think and feel, to provided that it does not turn it into harmful actions towards oneself or others.
The other is continuous confrontation: in identity I find myself, but I do not change; I reinforce myself, but I stiffen, I learn to be enough, and consequently to content myself. Conflict operates in diversity, but the alignments in the field must have equal forces because in diversity we do not have a winner and a loser, it is not a war, but a rebalancing of forces, a tendency not to go above things, but beyond things .
We are generators of meaning, not mere receptors. The ongoing challenge is to understand how much of what we attribute to the other is only a projection of ourselves, of what we feel. Understanding the border means respecting its being foreign to us in its authenticity. The other is my enemy to the extent that he sees me coming with bellicose intentions and if it is true that I am too, to the extent that I see him coming to me with as many intentions, sometimes it is necessary for one of them to stop attacking because the other ceases to defend itself.
https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2019/08/21/peggio-dellintolleranza-degli-intolleranti-ce-solo-lintolleranza-dei-tolleranti/5394849/
translated by google translate
