'Four A' Foray

Back in high school, I remember discussing some instance of intolerance one student had with another. It was nothing major as I recall. The student was making fun of the other for being different but it didn't really escalate to anything more than an exchange of words. After having a discussion about it with friends who were witness to it as well, I distinctly remember having a sociological hypothesis pop into my head. I call it the "Four A's". I argue it's a stepwise process everyone makes that allows them to feel various levels of tolerance.

Acknowledge
Accept
Appreciate
Admire

Allow us to use homosexuality as an analogy. At the most basic level, one must acknowledge that there is such a phenomenon in our culture as homosexuality. Acknowledgment either leads to acceptance or down the path of intolerance. Acceptance is understanding without abhorrence. Acceptance either leads to appreciation or, well, another A-word. Apathy. Appreciation, in this case, doesn't necessarily mean that one appreciates the fact that homosexuals have an affinity for others of the same sex; it's a realization that not only people are different but one has approbation for those differences. Admiration, in this arrangement again, does not necessarily mean one admires them for their sexual alternative, but more so for the strength it takes when amassed with intolerant people. It is upon seeing a characteristic in another that one wants to apply that attribute to strengthen their own character. I argue that is the highest level of tolerance one can achieve, seeing something affirmative in others and wanting to adhere it to their own personality.

One does not have to reach the highest step, the apex, to be an adequate person. Making the jump from 'Acknowledge' to 'Accept' is the most acute. It abolishes the derivation into assorted levels of disdain.

Beyond tolerance, of course, is Love.
Amorousness is absolutely another assumption altogether.