Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
Interpretation
Tolerance means respecting others' beliefs while remaining committed to your own.
This quote by John F. Kennedy emphasizes that true tolerance does not require forsaking one's own beliefs; instead, it involves rejecting the oppression and persecution of others due to differing beliefs. It advocates for coexistence and respect among diverse perspectives, recognizing that a healthy society is built on mutual understanding and acceptance.
In practice
In a speech advocating for human rights.
The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe... the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning.
I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed ... that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come.
I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
Whenever someone refers to me as someone "who happens to be black," I wonder if they realize that both my parents are black. If I had turned out to be Scandinavian or Chinese, people would have wondered what was going on.
I have long since passed that period when I felt personal discomfort at the sight of an ill-dressed or illiterate Negro. Social awareness has taught me where to lay the blame.
Getting well is not the only goal. Even more important is learning to live without fear, to be at peace with life and ultimately death.
There is no holy life. There is no war between good and evil. There is no sin and no redemption. None of these things matter to the real you. But they all matter hugely to the false you, the one who believes in the separate self. You have tried to take your separate self, with all its loneliness and anxiety and pride, to the door of enlightenment. But it will never go through, because it is a ghost.
Can a man of perception respect himself at all?
Corporations arenβt people. People are people.
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