The trend is unsettling. The Mozilla firing. The forced sale of the L.A. Clippers. The cancellation of television programming. The censure of the rapper for an insult of the president.
One common theme of all these varied incidents is a professed allegiance to the idea of "tolerance." There are segments that need to be accepted and affirmed. Those who refuse are declared bigots, perpetrators of "hate crimes," and treated as pariahs. All in the name of tolerance.
We have moved from a tenet of "live and let live" to a dogma of "accept all things without discrimination." And those who fail to adopt the popular mantra of "equality" in unequal matters are savaged with a blood-lust that betrays the political savagery of an oppressor who has replaced an oppressor.
We are trained to view the LGBT community as warm, wonderful, and quite normal people. Perhaps some are. But individuals are convincible, not whole communities, and those who trifle with the affects (and affectations) of the "community" are dangerous.
We have emerged as a nation that cannot bear insult. What decades ago would have been deemed polite disagreement has been given status of unbearable "hate." Echoes of pleas of tolerance sound hollow somehow. Perhaps the rise in violence is a counter-proposal to seek tolerance at the previous standard.
In the end, there are two opinions to tolerate. If time is granted to savor one opinion and one opinion only, to see one side of the issue and only one side of the issue, then we have failed as a society. Tolerance is being able to voice points of favor and disfavor, without bloodshed, unpleasant consequences, or diminished respect. It is the work of two parties, not just the obligation of a single side.
If this then is a lesson unlearned, we must then move on to the next question ...
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