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Tolerance and Liberalism

Tolerance, stated simply, is the realization that people are different and the acceptance of this realization. Tolerance is the readiness to recognize that people have different opinions and behaviors. All individuals have their own way of thoughts and behavior. These differences in people’s thoughts and behaviors, in their opinions and attitudes, and in their practices, may stem from factors that are not alterable such as race, ethnicity, age or sex, or from factors that can be changed for instance culture, religion and nationality.

Liberalism, alternatively also stated simply, is belief in equal freedoms and rights for all. What this means is that regardless of one’s race, religion, nationality, culture, ethnicity and other such factors that make up an individual, everyone is entitled to the same basic rights and freedoms. In short, every person has a right to be treated the same as every other person. From the above definitions it is clear that tolerance and liberalism are terms that are closely related to one another. Liberalism is the fundamental policy or perspective underlying tolerance. Tolerance is the application of liberalism at an individual level. That is, for one to be tolerant one must be liberal in thinking and behavior.

These two terms can thus be used to describe how individuals in the university setting could interact with one another, not just in the classroom but also elsewhere within the university campus. As one looks around the university it is easy to note that there is a great variety within the student body. There are students of varying ethnicity, race, religion, culture and even nationality. One will be able to find individuals whose thinking and behavior differ greatly from their own. So if every individual is not the same as every other individual, this makes every person different in their own unique way. This is not to say that it is impossible to find within the university someone who thinks the same as you, or who behaves in a similar manner as your own; rather it is saying that you are likely to find within the university someone or the other who will not have the same kind of opinions as yours and whose practices will differ from yours. This now creates the idea of identity. Identity is a status of being oneself, being who you are. It is the state of being unique, but it can also be the state of belonging, such as belonging to a particular nationality or culture.

Identity politics is as a result of unity of some specific subgroups to enhance political and social change. Identity politics is not only limited to racial and gender diversities, but also to sexual orientation, citizenship status, ethnicity and other marginalized groups in the society. Considering a University setting where there are students from different cultural backgrounds, identity politics are inevitable. The success of marginalized groups in campus has led to empowered other subgroups through political identity. Identity politics can influence interactions in the university both positively and negatively. On the positive note, each subgroup feels like the have equal rights with the others. They know that they are different from the rest, but feel that their difference can positively be incorporated in the society. This encourages participation of all subgroups in one common activity. On the negative note, identity politics can cause a major division between members of different subgroups.

Neo-liberalism is a termed used to express the hypothetical approach to the study of an institution. Neo-liberalism seeks to show that international collaboration is achievable. Although there is lacks sovereignty at the international level creating opportunities for conflict liberals insist that institutions cooperate in order to decrease uncertainty. Although the students at the university are from different countries and from different cultural backgrounds, the institution has devised a way of bringing together the diversities for the harmonious co-existence of students and their educators.

However, liberalism and identity politics have not been counterbalanced. Instead of bringing together different student in the university for a harmonious existence, identity politics has further marginalized other minority groups. Liberalism alternatively, has not been successfully implemented in the university. Liberalism states that all the students will have equal rights and freedom despite their differences in race, culture, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation. However, marginalization of people in accordance to their differences is a common occurrence at the university. Students from “superior” groups are given special privileges as compared to other students belonging to marginalized groups.

Liberalism is assumes that an individual is autonomous presuming that each person has interests that are different from those of other people. The aim of liberalism is not to promote individualism and alienate people depending on their identity. Liberalism aims to provide a social condition I which people can freely interact. Conversely, multiculturism aims to acknowledge the diversity and importance of culture so as to exercise individual rights and protection of interests of many groups that are alike. Many multicultural educators are concerned that multicultural education for students at the university will not have the intended results which are to wipe out discrimination among students and the society as a whole. Learning about diverse cultures is meant to make the students find a source of identity at the same time appreciating other cultures. However, in most cases this is not the outcome of the studies because the learning of this culture may give room for marginalization and divisions between students of different cultures. For diversity to prevail, tolerance has to be practiced by every individual. The tolerance of things one does not appreciate about a culture that is different from theirs will create harmony in a society where different cultures are found.

Identity is an important aspect of ones life for understanding oneself and also for one to feel that they belong to something. When individuals are in a social situation, they have to assume different faces and roles in relating to the different people in the society. Basing this in the university where people have different identities and personalities, an individual might loose their identity in trying to fit into different social groups. When an individual attempts to present themselves to a society filled with people from diverse backgrounds, their presentation might be misinterpreted which is something the individual has no control over. In order to avoid such cases, individuals try to refrain from presenting themselves in a social setting to avoid these misinterpretations. This is the reason why, some students at the university are termed as ant-social just because the do not know how to present themselves to different people.

Self awareness gives the chance for individuals to have a sense of who they are in relation to their cultures and society. By altering of ones insight of self in response to the society, people are able to construct their own identity. During social interactions, people present themselves while simultaneously taking note of presentations made by others. Depending on one’s character, an individual has the ability to adjust their presentations in accordance to the presentations and response of those close to them. Essentially, social interaction involves a negotiation between individuals in a specific social context conveying aspects of their identity. This negotiation occurs unconsciously where people comfortably interact with others giving specific information and at the same time assessing the information they receive.

So as to socially fit in a group of many people, one needs to tolerate the identity of others. It is definite that all people will not like a particular identity because people are diverse in the thinking so it is important to tolerate other people’s identities bearing in mind that others are tolerating you identity. After reading the class notes and lectures, it has come to my attention that more often people misjudge others presentations of identity because of the way they present themselves. It is easier for one t tolerate others than to receive tolerance. Tolerance is an important aspect when dealing with a society with diverse cultures because it avoids discrimination (c.l). Tolerance brings out equality between different groups and allows one to fit in a group that is not their preference. In order for an individual to present themselves in a social setting that has people of diverse cultures, then they have to consider that these people are different and their presentation should also be different for each individual in order to convey the desired message. However, presentations of an individual in a private setting differ from that of a public setting. In a private setting, individuals tend to display their actual personalities because they are not afraid that anyone would judge them. This is when the true character of an individual can be discovered. Therefore, an individual is able to create different presentations when in a private or in a public setting. The capability of altering the mind of an individual is a process that is mostly unconscious and does not necessitate any effort.

When in a social setting, people feel that they require to conform to a certain social norm that leads to changes in behavior. People will adjust their own behavior for fear of rejection, social sanctions or disapproval. Social pressures are present in all types of social relations affecting both the behavior of the group and the values of each individual. Simultaneously, the pressure of different individuals to conform to a crowd has increased significantly. The assertion of one’s individualism or identity, one is considered to be no longer part of that crowd. As much as interaction in a social setting is encouraged, the negative implications are also unavoidable. An individual in the effort to conform to a certain group will definitely loose their identity.

Violence in schools can be described as both physical and physiological. Physical violence is easily controllable unlike physiological violence that in most cases goes without punishment. Those who go scot-free for this type of violence in most cases are not willing to conform to changes of the current status of the environment. This kind of violence is not only threatening to the individual’s overall performance but also affects the interaction between students in school. Safety on the other hand is a concept derived from protection that one receives from belonging to a certain group in school. When an individual identifies with a certain group of people, they feel the need to protect the needs of that group at the same time fighting the interests of other groups. However, safety can lead to occurrence of violence. The need to protect one group might lead to increase of violence in another group (c.d).

Conclusively, liberalism and tolerance determine the interaction of students both in the classroom and in other places in campus. Within the university, there are different groups of people with diverse cultural backgrounds. In such a social place, individuals present themselves in different ways to different people. Moreover, for harmony in the society to be achieved, an individual needs to tolerate the identity of others bearing in mind that their identity is being tolerated by others. However, this kind of change from one presentation to another might affect the identity of an individual in their effort to conform to the norms of the society.