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“We the People” encourages tolerance
YOUNGSTOWN
Rodd Coonce, owner of Full Circle Florist and host of Music on Madison, both on Youngstown’s North Side, strives to teach others his favorite saying, TEHO – to each his/her own.
“We need to have a little more of that,” Coonce said. “I always say that when people have the answer, they’re that much further from the truth. It inhibits the discovery process and the learning process and the overall tolerance for other people and their views.”
At 11 a.m. Sunday, Coonce is hosting “We the People,” an open discussion of religions and non-religions, at Dorian Books, 802 Elm St.
“Too many times I have heard in church, ‘If this person doesn’t accept Christ, they’re not going to get eternal life,’” he said. “The Jesus I know would never – what if someone lives a good life and follows commandments doesn’t accept Christ? Where do these people go then?”
Coonce said his hope is to promote tolerance of one another and each person’s set of beliefs.
“I want people to start to be more in harmony with one another,” he said.
The only rule Coonce set for the event is no one can tell another person he or she is wrong or pass judgment based on what others say or believe in.
“We have never ever proven two snowflakes are alike – I love this theory – and when snowflakes all come together we say, ‘Oh my God, is that beautiful,’” he said. “No two people are alike, but when we come together, instead of making something beautiful, we make chaos and war.”
His aim, he said, is to bring that snowflake mentality to people.
Although there is no significance to meeting Sunday – the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania – Coonce said he’d like to make it a monthly event, no matter what the attendance is.
“I don’t care if there are five people [there],” he said. “If we can grow the idea of saying, ‘Let’s accept one another and their differences and learn from one another,’ that’s good enough for me.”
A “little start” is all Coonce said he needs and this event will be it.
In addition to an open discussion, a potluck luncheon will begin at noon.
For more information, contact Coonce at 330-744-9980.