Tolerance, Anyone?

The following post may contain some flippant treatment of serious EVIL – reader discretion (and appreciation of sarcasm) is advised.

Tolerance seems to be making the headlines a lot lately.

ISIS (or whatever they’re calling themselves) doesn't believe in diversity of anything. There is only ONE WAY to talk, ONE WAY to act, ONE WAY to believe, and if you aren't aligned with that ONE WAY, then you should be DEAD (Wait - their ONE WAY or DEAD is actually TWO ways; am I’m being unfair to them? NOT.) They don’t TOLERATE the existence of another way, and they will force you to ACCEPT theirs.

Hamas is a little less picky – they don’t seem to care WHO dies – Israeli or Palestinian, Jew or Muslim, Man, Woman, or Child, as long as they get what they want, and Israel is wiped off the face of the earth. And then whoever else they decide needs to go so they can get whatever they think they’re entitled to. We can’t be TOLERATED, and we need to ACCEPT that.

I’m blessed to live in one of the most diverse, inclusive, and particularly TOLERANT countries on Earth. TOLERANCE means that even if you don’t ACCEPT how someone looks or believes, you don’t have to approve of them, or like them, or give them what they want, and you don’t KILL them for it.

Think about that – a country where citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, with a mix of every ethnic, religious, social, cultural group on Earth, and, for the most part, we manage to exist side by side without killing each other. How is that possible?

We were founded on the principles of the rights of the individual (not the group), and deep down, most of us understand that each individual has the right to exist as much as any other. We can all believe what we want – there is no enforced religion or GROUP THINK.

Of course, it would be hard to tell that nowadays. Where it used to be okay for people of different beliefs to discuss those differences openly in public, a POLITICAL CORRECTNESS has emerged that makes WRONG THINKING punishable by the loss of the right to speak, or earn a living. TOLERANCE is no longer enough; there must be total ACCEPTANCE (of course, only of the “right” things); anything less and you will be shunned.

The greatest damage done by political correctness is that we can no longer have open, honest debate in this country. What used to be considered common sense is now backwards and oppressive, and anyone who expresses a thought to the contrary, defends ages old cultural beliefs is intimidated and silenced through insults character assassination. Once you start having to hold back on our TRUTH and CANDOR for some things, it cripples our ability to contribute fully on anything.

Science is not consensus driven – you must have all the facts (not just your own) in order to make discoveries and solve problems. Silencing (or hiding) an opinion or fact that doesn't fit your template doesn't prove your theory.

The same goes with any other attempt to understand a situation and come up with solutions. Shouting down other viewpoints, calling the opposition names and threatening them for speaking openly and honestly doesn’t solve any problem – it just creates more.

Group think isn’t thinking. Things will only get worse if we can’t talk openly with AND HEAR each other. Failure to listen to and tolerate ideas other than your own makes true understanding impossible.

(And you thought I was going to say something about Ferguson, Missouri. I am SO TIRED of group identification overpowering the honesty and integrity of the individual…)

Don’t just go with the herd. Raise your head up above it all every once and a while, and make sure you know where the cliff is.

Just saying…

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