Helen on The Sin of Intolerance

Helen Karr McFarland on “The Sin of Intolerance”

It's so much easier to become more tolerant in old age because we're no
longer being squeezed by a thousand forces--job, family, community
responsibilities, etc. So much of my own intolerance in former years
was due, at least partially, to feeling so pressured for time and
energy. If someone proposed a different way of doing things or a change
in plans, it often threatened to take up even more of my time and
attention, and I often felt that I just didn't have any more to give. So
that person had to be "wrong" or "bad" or "thoughtless." I'm becoming
more tolerant, but I'm not sure it's so much a refinement of my
character as simply a lessening of responsibilities. If I were thrust
back into the life style of my 40's, I think I'd be just as judgmental
and intolerant as I was then. Not sure what is to be learned from this
great insight. Maybe just to be less judgmental of younger people who
seem judgmental--they have a reason.

Should we try to live a simpler life all along and not get so caught up
in the details of life even when we're young? It seems appropriate to
live with great energy and enthusiasm in the years when we have great
energy. But when we're 70+, we make virtue of necessity and start
preaching "Slow down!"