The Death of Tolerance

[JFN1]

I was reading about South Dakota's Republicans latest attempt to outlaw abortion, and it occurred to me that tolerance, in America, has all but died. We are a nation tearing itself asunder...outlawing a woman's choice, allowing medical and pharmacy professionals to deny care based on their "religious conscience," denying teenagers advice on contraceptives...all the while wrapping themselves in the flag...forget tolerence for other's beliefs, other's views, other's needs...

There is a passage in a book I read as a child by Madeleine L'Engle which describes the citizens of a distant world as extensions of the will of 'IT', the being who ruled the planet. All of the people did everything at exactly the same time, in exactly the same way - no deviations at all. And no free will.

I see an effort by the Bush administration and fanatic Christians to bring about virtually the same thing, and it is frightening, in and of itself. But even more frightening is what it says about our society, culture, and people.

America was built upon the very principles of tolerance for others. But what has happened to tolerance in this country? Reds have no tolerance for blues, blues no tolerance for reds, and everyone everywhere seems to have a target painted on them by someone else.

What has happened to tolerance? When did we become such a sissified society that every, single, micro or macro, HUMAN action is capable of mortally offending someone else and thus must be stopped, prohibited, buried, or legislated until no offense exists or could possibly exist?

This I know for certain: When we give up tolerance, we also sacrifice personal responsibility. And it is this aspect of our current, surreal situation all Americans find themselves in which is most frightening. What this tells us about the future is not encouraging.

You Republicans and Bush supporters- is this what you want? The end of diversity? The death of tolerance? The fragmentation of personal responsibility in favor of doctrine? A New America that reflects only a single vision - the Republican vision? Elimination of all disagreement with official decree? One Way, One Party, One Will?

This is not hyperbole - I am seriously asking. Is this truly the America you seek? If so, I must then ask, how will we grow? With no diversity, how will we become more tomorrow than we are today? Without complexity, how we will learn to solve the complex problems which assault our human condition?

- Cross posted at Justice For None

[serryjw]

1. Equally missing

is public debate or discourse. We do not talk to the 'other side'. We only talk to each other of the same persuasion. What good to we do to society if we only preach to the choir.

[SlipperySlope]

3. Like we're doing here? - N/T

[SlipperySlope]

2. I agree with you, and more

I don't think that there is any national sense of what America should even stand for anymore, besides "being number one".

If the idea of "America" tries to be all things to all people, then it end up being nothing.

To me, "America" is about freedom. And to me, freedom means freedom for everybody, and that requires tolerence both from and for everybody.

You see, you don't have freedom if you are only free to act like everybody else. You only have freedom when you are free to act the way you want. A that means that somebody else has to tolerate you expressing that freedom. In return, your end of the bargain is to tolerate what others do.

Where do you draw the line at what you will tolerate? To me it is simple, you draw the line when one person is directly harming or infringing another.

So?

So this country is awash in intolerence today, nationally and internationally.

Intolerance towards reproductive choice...
Intolerence towards recreational drugs...
Intolerence towards homosexuals...
Intolerence towards athiesm...
Intolerence towards religion...
Intolerence towards gun owners...
Intolerence towards the rich...
Intolernece towards the poor...

It comes from all sides, nobody wants to let anybody alone. And I believe that is true of almost all political persuasions today; republican, democrat, neoconservative, progressive. The country is choking itself on people who want to tell other people what the fuck to do.

We've got so much intolerence that our cup is running over, so we're sharing it with the rest of the world. Iraq, you can't do that. Venezuela, you can't do this. Iran, don't even think about. France, Germany, Old Europe, you better get with the goddamned program if you know what is good for you.

Oh, yeah, if we're "lucky", our side might start winning a few elections. Then we'll be in charge and we can tell people what to do. But you know what, it's still going to tear this country apart.

The only way out, the *only* way out, is that we all have to agree to disagree. We all have to get our noses out of other people's lives and get back to living our own.

But I'm not holding my breath. I'm just waiting for a different round of the same old crap. Maybe it will feel better if my "enemies" are on the receiving end instead of the giving end this time, but in the end, bye-bye America...

[cali]

4. Hey, don't be so dispirited about this.

America may always have had the ideal of tolerance, but that was never the reality. And though most republicans don't seem to adhere to that ideal, this country is a lot more tolerant than it was 30 years ago or so.

Here's a bit of what I think is the best thing ever written about tolerance:

"Tolerance is a very dull virtue. It is boring. Unlike love, it has always had a bad press. It is negative. It merely means putting up with people, being able to stand things. No one has ever written an od ode to tolerance, or raised a statue to her. Yet this is the quality which will be most needed after the war. This is the sound state of mind which we are looking for. This is the only force which will enable different races and classes and interests to settle down together."

E.M. Forester

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Great quote.

[cali]

6. It's from a book of essays

long out of print, entitled "Two cheers For Democracy" It's what used to be quaintly called belle lettres.
It's flat out brilliant. Here's another snippet, from an essay entitled "What I believe":

I do not believe in Belief. But this is an age of faith, and there are many militant creeds that, in self-defense, one has to formulate a creed of one's own. Tolerance, good temper and sympathy are no longer enough in a world which is rent by religious and racial persecution, in a world wher ignorance rules, and science who ought to have ruled, plays the subservient pimp,"

Forester was prescient.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Brilliant. I'm a fan of Forester.

But, have only read his novels.

[havocmom]

8. Bravo!

One wonders if the neocon enablers understand that in a bee hive, there is no free will. And damn few get laid either. Think I will start asking them if that is what they want.

[Rocknrule]

9. That is EXACTLY what they want

They really think America should be for Republicans only