International Day of Tolerance: what is our social life like?

The day on which we should especially remember tolerance and community was established by the United Nations in 1996. It is a reminder that a society full of xenophobia and lack of acceptance is destructive for everyone. It does not build the future, it destroys it. Without elementary respect and respect for the freedoms and rights of others, our community falls apart, and as a consequence we ourselves become less confident, more afraid and more alone.

UNESCO has created a definition of tolerance based on respect, acceptance and recognition of the richness of the diversity of cultures in the world, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Although in theory we often agree with such slogans, in practice we are not always aware of what tolerance really is and how we can contribute to making our society grow in a sense of mutual trust and respect. Who and what divides us?

In the media, there are more and more opinions that as a country we are divided. However, this does not apply only to Poland - in the world, especially in Europe, researchers have been observing the phenomenon of polarization of societies for some time. Polarization and division have thus become a useful concept for describing all social processes taking place in the modern world. Yes, polarization does occur in certain areas. For example, we are divided by the way we use social media. The Internet easily locks us in “information bubbles”, which often present completely different versions of events. In a situation where technology has taken over a significant part of our social lives and communication takes place largely virtually, our diverse views often have no chance of meeting - this is how algorithms work. In addition, the ease of posting content anonymously favors the growth of hate and harassment. An obvious proof of the seriousness of the situation is the fact that in 2022 alone, the European Foundation of Human Rights reported as many as 70 cases of hate speech on the Internet. It is worth adding that, as recommended by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, hate speech includes all expressions that spread, publicize or justify racial hatred, xenophobia and other manifestations of intolerance, such as aggressive nationalism or ethnocentrism, as well as discrimination and hostility towards national minorities, immigrants and people of immigrant background.

Media, however, does not operate in a vacuum. Newspapers, television, radio, as well as their creators, often significant figures in the world of culture, science, art or politics, still play an important role in public life. Their authority does not always mean infallibility, but they are the people we expect to tell us about the world we live in. On the one hand, we choose them ourselves by giving them attention and commentating function, but on the other hand, the narrative of the media and authorities can become so strong that it somewhat obscures the real picture of the functioning of our community.

In this situation, social studies come to the rescue. What the media won't tell us can be explained by science. At the end of this chain, however, there is another group that turns out to be the most influential... But more on that in a moment.

The truth about Polish divisions: a study by the New Community Foundation An organization that works on a daily basis to counteract divisions and promote dialogue between people with different views is the New Community Foundation. By conducting so-called “good conversation trainings”, which consist, among other things, in listening carefully to the statements of others and trying to reproduce them (which develops our ability to listen and interpret other people's statements), the foundation tries to show in practice that people with different views, for example political ones, are often able to get along and even share similar values.

In order to confirm the hypothesis that Polish society may be more divided in the image presented by the media than in reality, the foundation together with SWPS University conducted a study in which three types of polarization were analyzed: affective, ideological and perceived. How do they differ? Affective polarization refers to dislike towards people with different views, ideological - to actual differences in attitudes towards specific issues, and felt - to our sense of the degree to which society is divided.

The study found that both affective and ideological polarization in Poland remain at a moderate level. Yes, we feel resentment towards people with different views and in fact we differ in opinions, but not to the extent that one might think. In contrast, the perceived polarization, that is, the feeling of division in society, turned out to be much stronger. In other words, we have the impression of large divisions, while the actual differences are smaller than we think. The findings of the study show how important a role the media and authority play in creating a sense of division and who can benefit from a “divided” community.

The Day of Tolerance as a Day of Our Values

How we shape our society, even though we are influenced by the media, technology and politics, also depends on ourselves and our daily choices and the way we communicate with others. Of course, it is worth fighting for ethical media, a law that does not allow hate on the Internet, or spaces that support the maintenance of social ties, but a lot also depends on the quality of social relationships that we want to build ourselves.

Tolerance is therefore also about the values we carry within ourselves: what we want to convey to our children, what example we set as company bosses, whether we pay attention to the way we communicate with others, and whether we are willing to talk to someone who seems to be “on the other side of the barricade”.

The International Day of Tolerance is a good opportunity to take a look at what we cultivate in our daily lives, what is important to us and what we would rather not see in our environment. Discerning how we feel about ourselves and others sometimes allows us to say goodbye to idealistic visions of community and to come to terms with its diversity, which in the end is ours, in the end, in common. Sources: 1. https://publicystyka.ngo.pl/czego-potrzebuje-wspolnota-tau

2.https://www.efhr.eu/2022/11/16/swietujmy-razem-16-listopada-miedzynarodowy-dzien-tolerancji/ 3. https://www.unic.un.org.pl/sg-na-temat-dni/miedzynarodowy-dzien-tolerancji---przeslanie-sg/2236