Monday, May 07, 2007
Tolerant or Intolerant?
One of the surprising things about life is that apparently tolerant people become intolerant of percieved intolerance in others. We expect intolerant people not to tolerate anyone who does not share their world view, taste, race, family, religion, or whatever it is they want to believe makes them superior to the rest of the world. Can it be that even tolerent people are sometimes little better than the intolerent people they dislike!
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2 comments:
mike, this is a test.
As with many things, tolerance has limits. Should the tolerant tolerate the intolerant? No, of course not! For tolerance to be successful it has to protect itself with these simple basic rules:
1) Tolerance should allow anyone to put forward any point of view/idea/belief/etc – but there is a condition attached: any points of views/ideas/beliefs should not be forced; they should be presented with thoughtful, honest and reasoned argument.
2) Tolerance should also be the acceptance that there can be (and room for), other points of views/ideas/beliefs. If one is offended, disgusted, outraged etc then one should learn to shrug it off. We are best placed to tolerate others when we have learnt how to tolerate ourselves first. In other words, don’t let yourself be offended, disgusted or outraged. Rise above it, and, if one so desires, exercise your right to reply, with the first rule above in mind.
reason42.com
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