The following statement was made in a thread in which I recently posted:
"Tolerance does not mean tolerating intolerance."
Apparently, this is a popular 'net meme at the moment. Which rather concerns me. Because it's really stupid. Here's why:
"As it stands, this is a nonsense statement. As soon as one ceases to tolerate anything, one is intolerant, so not tolerating intolerance makes one intolerant - the very thing one's "tolerance" will not tolerate! See? Totally silly!"
I was chuckling when I wrote this, but as I thought about it, I began to see a very hypocritical side to the label of "intolerant."
"Really, the whole idea of tolerance has become a ridiculous one in North American culture. There is not one single person on this planet who is not intolerant of something! There is no such thing as a truly entirely tolerant person, only intolerant people willing to tolerate what it suits them to tolerate. It is particularly hypocritical, then, for one person to point to another and criticize them for intolerance. Intolerance is a necessary part of being a thoughtful, moral being and is not in itself an evil thing. It is what one is intolerant about that may warrant criticism, not intolerance itself."
Every society has had foolish and thoughtless people. But there seems to be a concerted effort now from many corners of western culture to stupefy the population, to make people unable to think deeply and carefully. That this "intolerant tolerance" idea has become a popular 'net meme illustrates the effectiveness of this effort. In North American societies shaped and guided by sound-byte logic, snappy one-liners, and specious rhetoric, well-formed, precise reasoning has largely disappeared. What will become of a nation that has made a steady diet of this sort of superficial thinking? Well, as the "intolerant tolerance" meme demonstrates, nothing good.
"Tolerance does not mean tolerating intolerance."
Apparently, this is a popular 'net meme at the moment. Which rather concerns me. Because it's really stupid. Here's why:
"As it stands, this is a nonsense statement. As soon as one ceases to tolerate anything, one is intolerant, so not tolerating intolerance makes one intolerant - the very thing one's "tolerance" will not tolerate! See? Totally silly!"
I was chuckling when I wrote this, but as I thought about it, I began to see a very hypocritical side to the label of "intolerant."
"Really, the whole idea of tolerance has become a ridiculous one in North American culture. There is not one single person on this planet who is not intolerant of something! There is no such thing as a truly entirely tolerant person, only intolerant people willing to tolerate what it suits them to tolerate. It is particularly hypocritical, then, for one person to point to another and criticize them for intolerance. Intolerance is a necessary part of being a thoughtful, moral being and is not in itself an evil thing. It is what one is intolerant about that may warrant criticism, not intolerance itself."
Every society has had foolish and thoughtless people. But there seems to be a concerted effort now from many corners of western culture to stupefy the population, to make people unable to think deeply and carefully. That this "intolerant tolerance" idea has become a popular 'net meme illustrates the effectiveness of this effort. In North American societies shaped and guided by sound-byte logic, snappy one-liners, and specious rhetoric, well-formed, precise reasoning has largely disappeared. What will become of a nation that has made a steady diet of this sort of superficial thinking? Well, as the "intolerant tolerance" meme demonstrates, nothing good.
