I Feel Sorry For You: Our Intolerance

I start my new job today, so my daily writing on my blog and in Search Wrap may be less frequent. Just briefly, what I want to comment on this morning about the election of Barack Obama, and tolerance. On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough said he was thrilled for Democrats, but that he wanted the Democrats to be equally as thrilled when evangelicals get excited and involved in changing the country via politics. Joe was offended that some pundits said when the Religious Right Republicans took control of this country it was equal to Al Qaeda and Islamic fundamentalists.

Well, I do see some, a few, a tiny, short, minuscule list of traits that are similar between Christian fundamentalists and any fundamentalists. This does not, in anyway, mean that I think the majority of Christian fundamentalists are like Al Qaeda.

In a political campaign there are things said in the heat of the debate that should not have been said, were not meant, or should not have been meant. Lies get told by all sides. This is, in part, the fault of the name at the head of the ticket, but not totally. There are so many cooks tossing stuff into the pot that the broth is going to taste funny at the end.

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Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding. ~Mohandas Gandhi

Here is what I wish: I wish we could have different opinions and not name call, or hate, or insult, or mock, ridicule, denigrate, sully, slur, or attack people who have different opinions. I have people that read my opinion and reply back, “I feel sorry for you, if you believe that!” That is a negative remark against me, not my opinion.

There are millions of reasons why people come to the opinions they cling to, and take the positions they cling to, and it is too shallow a response to say, “I’m sorry for you because you don’t have the same opinion I have.” If you want to pity the lack of my logic, then comment on the shallowness of the position, or the lack of supporting data, or the thinness of my rationale. Attack ideas, but not people.

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Of course, even by attacking intolerance, I may, perhaps, show a lack of tolerance. Consider the words of George Santayana:

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Intolerance is a form of egotism, and to condemn egotism intolerantly is to share it. ~George Santayana

I hear opinions all the time that I could not disagree with more. I don’t pity those I disagree with, I am puzzled, perplexed, bewildered, baffled, taken aback, and I find the position off putting. What I would hope is that when people have odd, or shocking opinions that they would fallow the stating of their opinion with rationale. I would hope that those who are stunned by the seeming illogic of the opinion would consider the rationale. At that point, either accept or reject the rationale (not the person) and if you find the rationale unpersuasive that you would counter with a statement of your differing opinion, followed by a presentation of the rationale that lead you to your opinion.

Tolerance of the freedom of opinion and freedom of expression is what makes Americans a great people. When we sully and insult, intimidate or attack one another for having different views we stain the flag, and hold our system up for the world to ridicule.

If you don’t share my opinion, well, I’m sorry. I won’t be sorry for you. I will be sorry for me, because I want to live in a country, and in a world where there is tolerance, and where a discussion of diverse rationale leads us all closer to solutions needed to address our shared problems.

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I have seen gross intolerance shown in support of tolerance. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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