Editor's Note: The following is reprinted with permission from TBA Newsletter, October 2001.

A few weeks ago, just two days after the destruction of the World Trade Center, about seventy-five Toledo lawyers and their spouses and guests - a group of about 120 in all - attended a dinner at the Islamic Center in Perrysburg. The event had been scheduled several weeks earlier at the suggestion of our colleague, Chereffe Kadri, who currently serves as the Center's President.

When the dinner was arranged, it had a simple purpose - to provide an opportunity for members of our Association and their guests to learn about the Center and the role it plays in the lives of its members and our community. The significance of that purpose was amplified immeasurably by what occurred in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania two days before the gathering.

Terrorism - hatred in action - is engendered by intolerance. Intolerance, in turn, has its origin in the darkness of ignorance.

Knowledge is the cornerstone of tolerance. Whenever we come together to learn from others, we begin to lay its foundation. Unless we know one another, we are necessarily apart and tempted into intolerance. Mutual tolerance - acceptance of one another and our differences - is the fundamental obligation of common citizenship in our diverse and pluralistic society.

Tolerance is a virtue to which lawyers have a professional, as well as a personal dedication. To be competent professionally, we need to understand the views of others, including, most important, those of our adversaries. Ignorance of those views may not lead to animosity, as it might in our personal lives. But if a lawyer lacks understanding, and is unable to view a situation as others see it, the client's well-being can be endangered.

Tolerance, which makes us open to the views of others and willing to hear what they have to say, is also a fundamental attribute of our legal system. An openness to the views of others and a willingness to let them be heard defines due process of law. Without that openness and willingness, a hearing cannot be fair, or its outcome just. Prejudice in the realm of law precedes injustice, just as destruction follows in the wake of intolerance in the larger world.

I am grateful for the hospitality we received several weeks ago and pleased to express that gratitude. The event that evening at the Islamic Center offered an opportunity to be reminded of the role that tolerance plays and must continue to play in our personal and professional lives if we are to have just society and a safe community.

Tolerance Honorable James G. Carr

posted 12/13/01