I have never been able to understand why some people are so ignorant of others. Why are some people so selfish, in thinking that they are right, and that no one else is? I have never been able to personally answer this question. It is something that has dumbfounded me for years. I am accepting of other people, why can't everyone be accepting of other people?
When I brought these questions to my grandfather last night he was struck by his profound yet simple answer. He began with the story of his recently deceased friend, Tom. Tom had been his friend since early childhood, and it had been years since he had seen many of the people that were present at the funeral. They exchanged stories of Tom's kindness and bravery, and wept tears of joy, undoubtedly earning him a pair of wings in the next life they all so faithfully believed in. After the service, my grandfather and his friends began to talk about their childhood, painting such vivid pictures it was as if the experiences were yesterday. Sadly during conversation, everyone was overwhelmed to hear that yet another one of their friends had deceased in recent days, Jeffrey. Jeffery, had a brother who lived in Hawaii, that he hadn't spoken to in 40 years. My grandfather asked why, and learned that Jeffery and his brother's big dispute began at their mother's funeral all those years ago. Each of them believed that their mother's house was to be signed in their name. Greed had consumed both of them, and sparked a small argument and ended in a silence that lasted the rest of their time together in this life. My grandfather explained to me that he believes if we are unable to solve disputes like this within our own families, we will not be able to accept the differences of other people. We will not be able to solve world issues, if we cannot solve issues within our own blood. I'd never taken this concept into consideration before. This issue lasted the rest of these two men's lives, and may have ruined the family relationship forever. If people can't learn to accept the way things are within their own family, then how are we supposed to accept an entire race or religion of people? This has been edited too much... and got muddy... I will rewrite it when I get all my thoughts straight
My grandfather and I came to agree that if people were able to forgive and forget, it would be much easier to be rid of all the ignorance in the world. People would be able to accept one another for all of their differences.
