I’ve been reading the book “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari, a.k.a the one book that every living human being should read, and the words have opened my eyes in a new way to tolerance. I’ve always believed in coexistence because I have no reason to think that I am superior to anyone else, but the book discusses an interesting part of our homo sapiens history.

Harari talks about the fact that before homo sapiens, other species of humans were able to coexist. For example, there is evidence of homo erectus and homo neanderthalis existing at the same time. It wasn’t until homo sapiens started roaming the planet that other humans became extinct. Since the beginning of homo sapiens’ time, we have been intolerant of others.

Why is it so hard for homo sapiens to coexist?

The name homo sapiens translates literally to “wise man,” however, is it really wise to assume that the color of someone’s skin or someone’s personal beliefs makes him or her less or more? No. Perhaps 300,000 years ago, the age of speciation for homo sapiens, it was necessary to be intolerant to survive. However, homo neanderthalis proved that tolerance and survival are NOT mutually exclusive because they lived for 2 million years….Harari questions whether homo sapiens will exist for even half as long as the neanderthals.

Maybe the reason for our unsure future as a species is our lack of tolerance. Maybe if we learn how to live with one another and learn from one another we can live as long as our cousins, the neanderthals. Science shows that we came from the same origin. It is beyond me how we can assume that we are better than another just because we don’t all look, act, talk, and feel the same.

Traveling and tolerance

While I was reading the chapter on the extinction of homo neanderthalis and homo erectus in “Sapiens”, I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes by St. Augustine. It goes as follows: “the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” I believe this quote can be interpreted in many ways but I couldn’t help but think about how it applies to tolerance.

When you travel, you know what it feels like to be different. People can see from a mile away that I am American when I am in another country. It’s not just because I have white skin and dirty blonde hair. It’s because of how I walk, how I carry myself, the expression on my face. It’s because of who I have become with the influence of American culture. It can be exhausting to always be looked at or misunderstood just for being. Of course, I cannot fully understand what it feels like to be ostracized, imprisoned, abused, or killed for being different as many people have, and continue to be. I am fortunate to only have a small understanding of what it feels like to be different. However, it is enough of an understanding for me to know that it is wrong to treat others poorly because of where they are from, what they believe, who they love, how they look, what they do.

I have a theory that if every person could get a passport and travel just once to a place on their own, with no friends, no family, and for an extended period of time, most people would begin to understand what it is like to be different. Many Americans “Americanize” their travels by going to the resorts that are English speaking with their families and friends and the only interaction with natives is during the travel. Maybe if more people took the chance to try and understand other cultures and immerse themselves in some place completely new and different, ALONE, they would become more tolerant of others. A quick and easy way to learn is to experience the consequences, good and bad, of trying something new.