TOLERANCE AND RESPECT

I have watched many, many times the tolerance for the behavior of the few cause harm to the many. Why do liberals not see this? I think it has to do with their goal. It's not, despite their tearful protestations, that they reeeeeealy care for people. It's that they reeeeeealy care for how they feeeeeeel. If you focus on tolerating one and that makes you feel good and morally superior, you've accomplished your goal. The 10 other people that will suffer because of this don't matter. It's not a rational plan to help as many as possible. It's an emotional plan to help one's self.

From an excellent article by David C. Parks:

The liberal says that "ignorance leads to intolerance." In fact, tolerance leads to ignorance. Bork recounts the liberal's dilemma, quoting W.H. Auden: "Emancipated from traditional beliefs of a closed society ... he [the liberal] has found no source or principle of direction to replace them ... liberalism is at a loss to know how to handle him, for the only thing liberalism knows to offer is more [liberalism] ... and that is his trouble." With no mental exercise of discernment, rationale, or principle required, tolerance dulls the intellect and implies that we should deny our natural sensibilities while we renounce our discernments. Tolerance presumes that we ignore our capacity to determine and act upon right from wrong, truth from falsehood, or good from evil. Tolerance denies intelligence.

When we allow tolerance to trump principles, we become the allegorical crab in the stewpot. The chef slips the crab into a large pot of water at room temperature. Every few minutes he turns up the heat a few degrees, until the crab, roused from his stupor too late, acquiesces to the inevitable boil and winds up supper for those who would benefit from his stupidity.

Respect is the missing virtue. Respect requires us to move beyond transgressions and differences, accept the author of poor belief and action, and in the process, initiate change. Tolerance identifies the person and belief as one and the same. Respect recognizes their differences and embraces the person when his belief or action may be wrong. Tolerance is a very bland substitute for respect, and people despair to see our nation settle for the lesser.

So golly! Why are so many kids today so miserable and unhappy? They have been taught in school to allow for NOTHING to hold onto as a virtue. Virtue is relative, everyone is supposed to make up their own. The thin veneer of civilization has been taken from them and they are left with nothing but their own selfish desires. They sink into the savagery that increasingly defines pop culture. 50 Cent is a hero. Need I say more? And where is respect? It's become only something to be given to them when they do whatever the hell they feel like doing. Anything else is...you know, intolerant.