【背景介绍】

宽容是一个人的肚量，肚量越大，对自己是越有好处的． 学会宽容别人首先要乐观，一个悲观的人总是很容易想到事物不好的一面，而且心情比较压抑和郁闷。宽容是一种生存的智慧,生活的艺术。

【英文原文】

I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. If I ever knocked on your door when you were mowing the lawn or taking a nap, please excuse me. I understand: a kid with a Watchtower magazine on your front porch isn’t a Girl Scout with cookies, but, hey, you didn’t have to sic your dog on me.

I believe how we treat the people we dislike the most and understand the least — Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example — says a lot about the freedoms we value in America: religion, speech and personal liberty. And all of these freedoms rely on one thing: tolerance.

I learned this as a kid when I went door-knocking with my mom. We were preaching that Jehovah’s kingdom was coming soon to solve the world’s problems. I prayed no one from school was behind those doors. Dogs I could run from. It was hard enough being singled-out as the kid who didn’t celebrate Christmas or say the Pledge of Allegiance. There was little tolerance for my explanation that we only worshipped God, and that God wasn’t American. There was no tolerance when I announced to my third grade class that Santa Claus was pagan and a lie.

Still, I didn’t have a bad childhood. Our Saturday morning ministry meant sacrificing my Saturday morning cartoons, but our 10 o’clock coffee break was a blessing. That’s when we would gather at Dunkin’ Donuts, trying not to get powdered sugar on our suits and dresses, while we told stories and laughed. We always knew when you were “home but hiding.”

As a teenager, I decided fitting in at school and in life was worth sacrificing some principles. So I never became a Jehovah’s Witness. That was the first time I broke my mom’s heart. The second time was when I told her I am gay.

Obviously I don’t agree with my mom’s belief that same-sex relationships are wrong. But I tolerate her religion because she has a right to her beliefs. And I like it that my mom doesn’t politicize her beliefs. She’s never voted for a law that discriminates against gay people, or anyone who isn’t a Jehovah’s Witness. Her Bible tells her to love, above all.

My belief in tolerance led to a documentary film I made about Jehovah’s Witnesses, and my mom actually likes it. The message is about being open to letting people have views we don’t like, so in that sense it could also be about Muslims, gay people or NASCAR race fans. The point is the people we don’t understand become less scary when we get to know them as real people. We don’t have to be each other’s cup of tea, but tolerance lets a variety of kettles peacefully share the stove.

I believe our capacity to tolerate both religious and personal difference is what will ultimately give us true liberty — even if it means putting up with an occasional knock on the door.

参考译文

我生下来就是一名耶和华见证人。如果我曾经在你割草或者睡午觉的时候，打扰了你，请原谅我。我知道：一个拿着《瞭望塔》杂志的小孩和一个带着饼干的女子童子军意义是不一样的，但是你不需要让你的狗来追我。

我知道人们对自己不喜欢的人总是极度讨厌，很少了解，就像耶和华见证人一样，我们说很多和自由相关的权利，包括宗教，言论和个人自由，但是这些都依赖于一样，那就是宽容。

从我小时候和母亲一起去敲门的那天开始，我就懂得了这个道理，我们和人们说，耶和华会拯救这个世界。作为一名不庆祝圣诞节，不宣誓对美国效忠的小孩来说，这项任务尤为艰巨。很少有人会忍受我们只信任不是美国人的上帝。当我三年级的时候，和同学说圣诞老人是异教徒，是个骗子的时候，大家都忍受不了我。

但是，我的童年并不惨淡。虽然周六早上的祷告意味着要牺牲我的卡通，但是10点钟的咖啡时间还是不错的。那个时候，我们可以聚在Dunkin’ Donuts，在那里我们要防止糖滴到自己的身上，我们讲故事，开怀大笑。

当我10几岁的时候，我决定放弃自己的一些原则来融入学校和社会。因此，我退出了耶和华见证人。那是我第一次伤害了母亲的心。第二次是我告诉自己是同性恋的时候。

显然，在同性关系上，我和母亲的观点是不一样的。但是我尊重她的想法，她有这样的权利。我也欣赏母亲没有将自己的这种想法政治化。她从来没有为反对同性恋，或不参加耶和华见证会的法律投票，《圣经》教育她如何去爱。

关于宽容的坚定促成我的一部关于耶和华见证人的电影，我的母亲很喜欢这部电影。这部电影主要是想倡导人们去接受不同于自己的声音，可以是穆斯林，同性恋等。了解之后，就不会那么害怕对方，我们不一定要喜欢自己讨厌的东西，但是我们可以和平相处。

我相信，我们对宗教和个人信仰的包容，将会给予我们真正的自由——就算是平时有人来敲门也无所谓。

重点词汇

1.porch n. 门廊；走廊

如：The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with.
最好的朋友也许就是那些能够和你一起坐在门廊下，看着过往的行人。

2.sic 用狗追某人

3.singled-out 挑选出

4.politicize vt. 使具有政治性

如：The strike has now been politicized.
这次罢工现已带有政治色彩。

5.documentary film 纪录片；文献片

如："Scrape" is a 30min documentary film shot in Gu Lou District, Nanjing.
这是一部30分钟的纪录片，拍摄于南京市鼓楼区。

6.cup of tea n. 命运；心爱之人或物