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Intolerance
Mar. 2nd, 2004 03:01 pmI am not really a tolerant person and I don't have a problem with it. I think there is a serious flaw with our current societies fixation with tolerance, actually it isn't tolerance that bothers me but how society tells us that we must approve, not just tolerate. Just because we should tolerate some things that do not directly affect us or cause us harm, does not mean that they are right, healthy, or good
That's what being in a free society means, that sometimes we have to let people be free to do things, we disagree with but which do not impugn our rights, or the rights of others. But that's doesn't mean we have to like it or approve of it.
For most things, my intolerance is divided into two categories:
Things which I personally believe to be wrong but have no problem with other people doing, these range from eating pork to homosexuality. Such things are in my opinion either sins between god and man (or woman) or simply distasteful, I do not want people judging me for my sins against god so I wont get involved in judging theirs. I have many homosexual friends and many friends who eat pork
I believe all of them deserve equal rights and treatment under the law but I cannot and will not compromise my beliefs by saying that I agree with their actions or that I believe it is ok. It is simply none of my business to interfere in whatever compromise [or lack thereof] they have worked out with their god in order to get on with their lives
I do not judge them because I cannot be in their shoes and for all my arrogance and pretensions I am not their god
Sometimes my homosexual friends [but rarely my pork eating friends] have a problem with this. They fail to see any difference between my judging an action as morally wrong, and my judging them as morally wrong. When the truth is unless someone is hurting someone else, I find myself without a leg to stand any such judgment upon. I have my sins, they have theirs, who I am to decide which is worse, or that one of us is therefore a better person
I accept them and their sins as they accept me and mine.
The other form of my intolerance, is with actions which negatively affect other people and there I am not so genial. From the heinous crimes such as rape or child abuse, to simple inconsideration. Such things I wont allow in my world, my actions of course are dependant on the scope. Obviously I would take stronger action and more prompt action, against a child rapist than an inconsiderate buffoon. But my principles, the very fabric of my reality depends entirely on my refutation of such behaviors.
In the words of Ellie Weisel
"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest."
In the Jewish belief system, the concept of charity is paramount, it is not simply a good thing to do, but an obligation. The Hebrew word "Tzedakah", which is most often translated as "Charity", also means "Justice". Because in recognizing our obligation to help those in need, we recognize that our world is imperfect,that injustices exist, and that we have a duty to help correct those injustices.
My own vision of my world, in many ways comes from these ideals, I rather envision my world as a bubble, and within that bubble I have complete control of the circumstances, when we interact with another person, our bubbles overlap, and we give consent for others to affect our world. Most of us fail to realize the extent of our control, and many of us are unwilling to accept responsibility for giving others consent to affect our lives. When someone brings a behaviour into my world, which I dislike, I make adjustments to remove that aspect or behaviour, either by speaking with the person, or removing them from my sphere of influence. When someone forces their way into my world, or uses violence in a way I find unacceptable within my bubble, I respond in kind. I have in the past, jumped in to defend a stranger being jumped by a number of guys, because it offends my sense of honor and how the world should work, and quite frankly, I would rather get my ass kicked than live with the thought that by omission, I consented to and accepted such behaviour as acceptable in my world.
Each of us, has a responsibility to ourselves and to our world to make every effort to prevent and heal injustices, or at a minimum to protest them. For me it is entirely a question of what kind of world I want to live in, and in all honesty, the world I see on the nightly news, is a world that I am not willing to inhabit. Perhaps I am a control freak, perhaps I am just too independent and stubborn to admit that there is anything in my world that I cannot affect.
I will be the first to admit that I have and will again in the future, fail to live up to my own ideals, my own aspirations, my honest goal is not perfection but merely to have more successes than failures in adhering to that which I believe, 51% is pretty damn good in my book. For me it is entirely about the quality of life I want to have, and the simple ability to look myself in the mirror at the end of any given day, and not be ashamed.
Just my nickel
That's what being in a free society means, that sometimes we have to let people be free to do things, we disagree with but which do not impugn our rights, or the rights of others. But that's doesn't mean we have to like it or approve of it.
For most things, my intolerance is divided into two categories:
Things which I personally believe to be wrong but have no problem with other people doing, these range from eating pork to homosexuality. Such things are in my opinion either sins between god and man (or woman) or simply distasteful, I do not want people judging me for my sins against god so I wont get involved in judging theirs. I have many homosexual friends and many friends who eat pork
I believe all of them deserve equal rights and treatment under the law but I cannot and will not compromise my beliefs by saying that I agree with their actions or that I believe it is ok. It is simply none of my business to interfere in whatever compromise [or lack thereof] they have worked out with their god in order to get on with their lives
I do not judge them because I cannot be in their shoes and for all my arrogance and pretensions I am not their god
Sometimes my homosexual friends [but rarely my pork eating friends] have a problem with this. They fail to see any difference between my judging an action as morally wrong, and my judging them as morally wrong. When the truth is unless someone is hurting someone else, I find myself without a leg to stand any such judgment upon. I have my sins, they have theirs, who I am to decide which is worse, or that one of us is therefore a better person
I accept them and their sins as they accept me and mine.
The other form of my intolerance, is with actions which negatively affect other people and there I am not so genial. From the heinous crimes such as rape or child abuse, to simple inconsideration. Such things I wont allow in my world, my actions of course are dependant on the scope. Obviously I would take stronger action and more prompt action, against a child rapist than an inconsiderate buffoon. But my principles, the very fabric of my reality depends entirely on my refutation of such behaviors.
In the words of Ellie Weisel
"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest."
In the Jewish belief system, the concept of charity is paramount, it is not simply a good thing to do, but an obligation. The Hebrew word "Tzedakah", which is most often translated as "Charity", also means "Justice". Because in recognizing our obligation to help those in need, we recognize that our world is imperfect,that injustices exist, and that we have a duty to help correct those injustices.
My own vision of my world, in many ways comes from these ideals, I rather envision my world as a bubble, and within that bubble I have complete control of the circumstances, when we interact with another person, our bubbles overlap, and we give consent for others to affect our world. Most of us fail to realize the extent of our control, and many of us are unwilling to accept responsibility for giving others consent to affect our lives. When someone brings a behaviour into my world, which I dislike, I make adjustments to remove that aspect or behaviour, either by speaking with the person, or removing them from my sphere of influence. When someone forces their way into my world, or uses violence in a way I find unacceptable within my bubble, I respond in kind. I have in the past, jumped in to defend a stranger being jumped by a number of guys, because it offends my sense of honor and how the world should work, and quite frankly, I would rather get my ass kicked than live with the thought that by omission, I consented to and accepted such behaviour as acceptable in my world.
Each of us, has a responsibility to ourselves and to our world to make every effort to prevent and heal injustices, or at a minimum to protest them. For me it is entirely a question of what kind of world I want to live in, and in all honesty, the world I see on the nightly news, is a world that I am not willing to inhabit. Perhaps I am a control freak, perhaps I am just too independent and stubborn to admit that there is anything in my world that I cannot affect.
I will be the first to admit that I have and will again in the future, fail to live up to my own ideals, my own aspirations, my honest goal is not perfection but merely to have more successes than failures in adhering to that which I believe, 51% is pretty damn good in my book. For me it is entirely about the quality of life I want to have, and the simple ability to look myself in the mirror at the end of any given day, and not be ashamed.
Just my nickel
