Tolerance: What If I Dare To Be Different?

Just be yourself and you are different. Yet, why is being one's self so difficult that one has to dare just to be different?
People, you and I, form expectations from one another based on their personal beliefs. Here we are, struggling to proclaim our unique and rare identity, dominated by decrees of conformity. The world is filled with people, each unique in their own ways. Many strive to uphold their uniqueness.
If you dare to be different, dare also to be tolerant of others who dare to be themselves. Tolerance is a prerequisite of daring to be different.

Each person is unique. Even identical twins, who appear so much the same, are different from each other. Here is an excerpt from The God Memorandum, Chapter 9 of The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino, that professes the uniqueness of each one of us:

You! One of a kind. Rarest of the rare.A priceless treasure, possessed of
qualities in mind and speech and movement and appearance and action
as no other who has ever lived, lives, or shall live.
Why have you valued yourself in pennies when you are worth a king's ransom?
Why did you listen to those who demeaned you . . .
and far worse, why did you believe them?
Take counsel. No longer hide your rarity in the dark. Bring it forth. Show the world.
Strive not to walk as your brother walks, nor talk as your leader talks,
nor labor as do the mediocre. Never do as another. Never imitate.
For how do you know that you may not imitate evil;
and he who imitates evil always goes beyond the example set,
while he who imitates what is good always falls short.
Imitate no one. Be yourself.
Show your rarity to the world and they will show you with gold.

Just be yourself and you are different. Yet, why is being one's self so difficult that one has to dare or to take courage just to be different? Hermann Hesse's opening statement in his book Demian is:

“I wanted only to try to live in accord with the promptings which
came from my true self. Why was that so very difficult?”

In his prologue in this book, Hesse articulated:

“Each man's life represents a road toward himself, an attempt at such a road, the intimation of a path. No man has ever been entirely and completely himself. Yet each one strives to become that – one in an awkward, the other in a more intelligent way, each as best he can. Each man carries the vestiges of his birth – the slime and eggshells of his primeval past – with him to the end of his days. Some never become human, remaining frog, lizard, ant. Some human above the waist, fish below. Each represents a gamble on the part of nature in creation of the human. We all share the same origin, our mothers; all of us come in at the same door. But each of us – experiments of the depths – strives toward his own destiny. We can understand one another but each of us is able to interpret himself to himself alone.”

What if I dare to be different? What if you also dare to be yourself? We live in a society of norms. People, you and I, form expectations from one another based on their personal beliefs. Our parents have expectations from us and they tell us what we should become. Our loved ones have expectations from us and they tell us how we should dress up, talk, walk and conduct ourselves. Our friends, neighbors, co-workers and so many others have expectations from us and they tell us to conform. We, in turn, develop our own expectations from others around us. Here we are, struggling to proclaim our unique and rare identity, dominated by decrees of conformity. With so many people telling us to be somebody who we are not, it takes courage to dare to be different. In Demian, Hesse argued that:

“Those who are too lazy and comfortable to think for themselves and be their own judges obey the laws. Others sense their own laws within them."

The world is filled with people, each unique in their own ways. Many strive to uphold their uniqueness. If you dare to be different, dare also to be tolerant of others who dare to be themselves. Tolerance is a prerequisite of daring to be different. Tolerance is the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others. It is the capacity to live in peace with others despite differences. It is a disposition to allow freedom of choice and behavior.
In our society of norms, we have normal range of height and weight, acceptable appearance, permissible behavior. How do we deal with people outside the norms? How do we deal with family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers or strangers who deviate from our expectations? How do we deal with people who look, think and act different from us?
They, like you and I, dare to be different but they are confronted by disapproval, sarcasm, humiliation, ridicule, or mockery by the very people who admonish the slogan “dare to be different”. In Celebrations of Life (1981), Rene Dubos quoted:

“Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue;
it makes it a requirement for survival.”

As more people begin to understand and give each other respect and compassion despite differences in personal appearance and style, race, class, gender, educational background, economic status, nationality, religion and more, there will be more winners among those who dare to be different.