Over 40 years ago when I was coaching high school football, we had an unwritten rule: kids with long hair couldn't make the team. I, and just about every other coach I knew, thought we could tell something important about a kid from the way he wore his hair, and we only wanted what we called "clean cut" guys on our teams.

Of course, we couldn't imagine a guy with a five o'clock shadow playing in the World Series either, or wearing a tux without a tie to pick up an Academy Award, and tattoos were only for those ex-Army and Marine "tough guys." I guess it's an understatement to say, "Times have changed."

When I look back on those years, it's easy to see how silly and narrow-minded we were in some ways, and how much broader our comfort zones have become in respect to clothes, hairstyles, or you name it. Today, "style" can mean a wide variety of things. However, I'd say we still have a lot to learn about judging inner qualities from outer appearances.

You see, too many people still believe they can tell what someone is like by the color of their skin, the neighborhood they live in, the job they have - or don't have - the church they go to, and so forth. Of course, this is judgment based on an incomplete picture.

I believe the day will come when we'll look back at that kind of bigotry and think how narrow-minded we were, how frightened and insecure and silly because, in the final analysis, tolerance is a survival skill.