We can live together in harmony
Bryan James Makkormik,
Bryan James Makkormik, director
of library system of district Martin,
the city of Fermont, state of Minnesota (USA)
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that ALL men are created equal.
Many people will recognize these words from the Declaration of Independence of the United States, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. It’s meaning still holds today: that all men and women, regardless of race, color, creed, or religion, are equal. We are all human beings, living together in this small world of ours.
For 3 years now I have been visiting Chuvashia, and every experience has been extremely positive. I have always been treated very well, and from what I see Chuvashia is a wonderful Republic full of interesting and dynamic people who all seem to work well together.
It was in 2003 that I first met people from Chuvashia, when a group of librarians participating in the Open World program first visited our community of Fairmont, Minnesota. For most people in Fairmont, this was their first exposure to Russian people, and for our guests it was their first time visiting with American families.
Our experiences have been heart-warming and beneficial, and is the reason why our community continues to host Russian visitors each year and why I enjoy visiting Chuvashia every year. My trips allow me to learn more about the Russian people and the culture, and it brings to mind a quote from an American author named Maya Angelou, who wrote:
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try to understand each other, we may even become friends.
Traveling has always been a big part of my life, and throughout all my travels I have met many people of different backgrounds and beliefs, and I am very proud to call many of them my friends.
A few months ago I was asked by the National Library to speak here today, and I was very glad to accept their offer. A couple weeks ago I asked what the National Library would like to me speak about, and they asked if I would do a speech about tolerance. I was a little surprised when I heard this, because I know that Chuvashia is a very tolerant region with people who work well together regardless of who they are. But as I thought about the topic a bit more, I realized that this is still an extremely important topic, and one that in many places of the world people are having difficulty achieving.
In most cases, America is a very tolerant country. There are many people of different nationalities, people with different beliefs, people of different color, and we have learned to accept each others differences and to work together towards a common good. This has not always been the case, as America also has a history of slavery, of treating blacks different than whites, and having laws that made it legal to do these types of things.
But what makes a democracy work is that people can talk about these issues, and work to overcome these problems. Martin Luther King Jr. once wrote that:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
Martin Luther King Jr. was killed for having these thoughts and for having a dream. But his dream lived on, and eventually it became reality.
Even though these words were first written in 1776, it still took time to convince some people of these words, “that all men are created equal.” Through education, working together, learning about each other and accepting our differences, this dream was realized.
We can live together in harmony, but the acceptance of people must come from within:
When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.
The people of Fairmont, Minnesota come from many different countries, visit different churches, some speak different languages, and have different beliefs. And we all have one thing in common: we all want to live and work together to make our community a better place to live.
We are people who want to know more about our friends and neighbors, so that we can better understand them. Tolerance is about educating ourselves about other people and their beliefs, and accepting these differences. In order to do that we need to be open to other cultures and to learn more about them.
In the past couple years in Fairmont we have had individuals from Japan, South Africa, Mexico, Russia, Canada, Pakistan, India, Korea, Philippines, and several other countries visit our city and talk about their country and share their culture with us. These visits help us to learn about others, and to accept their ideas and beliefs. These visits also are an important part in teaching our youth about tolerance, and in reinforcing that belief among others in our community.
Tolerance is not something that happens overnight. Nor is it something that just goes away. It is something that needs to be understood and to be appreciated. There are many different people in this world, all with different thoughts and ideas. When we learn about these differences, we begin to realize what a rich world this is: all these people with different ideas and different beliefs. It is simply remarkable how we all have different gifts that we can give back to our friends, our families, and our neighbors.
Meeting people of different cultures, educating ourselves about different thoughts and ideas, and traveling to meet other people in their native countries helps promote tolerance. For 135 years The National Library of Chuvashia has been here to help educate people, and provide information. It has been involved in the community and participates in many programs and projects. Several staff members have traveled abroad to other countries and have shared their experiences. Many people of differing backgrounds have visited the National Library and shared their ideas and beliefs. The National Library of Chuvashia has been a strong voice in promoting tolerance. Together, the National Library and many other organizations in Chuvashia have helped to create a Republic full of vibrant, intelligent, creative, peaceful and tolerant people.
I’d like to end my speech today with one final quote, a quote that doesn’t talk about a person’s color, their beliefs, or what country they come from. It simply talks about a person as being a man. It was Fyodor Dostoevsky who wrote:
One can know a man from his laugh, and if you like a man's laugh before you know anything of him, you may confidently say that he is a good man.
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