Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1864-04-29
BIGOTRY.

Probably every man thinks he sees evidences
of a great deal of bigotry in the world. Bigo-
try is defined as Irrational partiality for par
ticular party or creed; blind zeal; prejudice. -
How much there is of it religious bigotry, po-
litical bigotry. There are men who would con-
slider it a most fragrant wrong not to belong to
the church to which their fathers belonged, and
for that simple reason. There are men who
would rather follow their political party through
every kind of inconsistent and iniquitous ac-
ton than abandon it. Their fathers belonged
to it, why should not they? Now for short
examination into some of the characteristics of
bigory.
l. Nobody sees the bigot in himself Surely
not. How can the eye see itself? How can a
man see himself as others see him? Who can
help endorsing the wish of Burns:-
go wad some pow'r the giftie gle us,
''T0 see oarseiS as others see as,
''It wad frae monte blunder free us,
''And foolish notion.
But no we seldom see ourselves except with
our own eyes, all influenced by the very bigo-
try which we think we do not possess And
as men do not see the bigot in themselves, they
see it abundantly in others. This is matter
of course. Their own prejudices do not seem
to them to be preiudices If they did they
would be no longer prejudices but crimes in
stead But
| 2. The greater mans bigotry whether re-
ligious or political the greater will he think
other mems bigotry. The bigger the beam that
he carries in his eye, the more distorted is his
vision, and the less can he see clearly. OF
course then the mote in his brothers eye seems
/ have no patience with it. He cannot regard it
in any other light than as an evidence of down
right dishonesty. He is wholly intolerant.
/ Hence
8. The consummate bigot makes the greatest
ado imaginable about bigotry. He is always
berating other people for their ''prejudices, y
/ their ''unfairness, their ''sectarianism, their
''attachment to party, and the like. Phe big
| OF can see a giant in every windmill, and must
have tilt with the imaginary monster ofcourse
The most intolerant men in the world are the
most censorious. The most corruptmep are Sc
verest in charging corruption upon others. 1t
wants a sectarian to denounce sectarianism in
/ befitting terms. He who holds that all men are
dishonest is known, by the simple avowal of
his creed, to be himself dishonest. So he who
! is free in charging others with bigotry may be
regarded himself as bigot.
| L. Bigotry leads man to charge his own
faults upon others Tiger-hunters are said
sometimes to have entrapped their victims by
the use of mirror. Sir Tiger approaching the
snare beholds the image of savage beast He
| is enraged by the presence of an enemy, and of
course ''pitches in to destroy him, and is
caught. But after all, his foe was only the re-
-fected image of himself If men could see a
respectable reflection of themselves intellectu-
ally and morally, it is questionable if they
would not be enraged. As you look into your
neighbor's eye, however do not charge upon
i him the deformity of the image which you see.
( 1t is only the image of yourself But the big
+ set-seeing all things with his own perverted
vision-attributes all the wrongs before him to
/ his felIow-men whereas the greater share of the
trouble lies in himself, if not the whole of it.
1 Hence it is safe for every man to allow that
! there may be something of bigotry in himself
as well as in Others He can afford to have char
! ity for Others, and at least to divide the blame
that he now lays wholly upon their shoulders
/ Half of it, at least, may belong to himself, B,