Tolerate this: more acceptance, less intrusion can pay dividends for North Carolina.

• Author: Mildenberg, David
• Position: Up Front - Column

My dad was a wonderful man who routinely put his family, country and community ahead of his own interests. He fought the Nazis barely a generation after his Dusseldorf-born father immigrated to the United States. He worked hard to pay for his sons' college educations, and he was devoted to the Lions Club and other civic groups. With age, he also gained a bigoted streak. It was muted when we lived in a small Midwest town that had no racial diversity. It flared after he retired to Arizona, a melting pot of cultures. On my periodic visits to Phoenix, my dad's intolerant attitude toward people of color working in restaurants and other places often sparked repeated quarrels. It's a painful memory, but it showed that well-meaning people may struggle to accept those who have different life experiences. And I learned that bigotry is wrong.

Decades later, intolerance remains a constant news topic, ranging from the depravity of Islamic terrorists killing Jews, Christians and others who don't share their extremist views to the Oklahoma frat boys singing racist ditties. There's plenty of intolerance closer to home, too. The Rev. Franklin Graham, one of North Carolina's most famous evangelists, accused President Barack Obama of being overly influenced by Muslims in his family tree. "Many feel that he's protecting Islam. I don't know that, but it certainly seems that way," Graham said of our twice-elected commander in chief in a March 11 radio interview. Charlotte's city council wrapped itself in knots recently in defeating a measure according lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens similar rights as...