Did you read Dani's post Tuesday? If not, get on that, please. I'll wait.
The post she's referring to is a confusing one. A lot of "I'm tolerant because I only believe gay people shouldn't get married, I don't DO anything about it. But please don't say anything mean to me because I deserve the tolerance that I don't actually give to others." At least that was my interpretation. You might have a different one.
I write about a lot of social issues, and I frequently write them in a, well, passionate tone. Yeah, passionate, let's go with that. I use strong language and I don't always make it clear that disagreements would be welcomed. Honestly, I usually struggle to form gracious replies when it does happen, so I won't pretend otherwise.
But what I don't do is say, "This is my opinion, so don't disagree with me or say anything mean." I don't cage my statements with ridiculousness like, "People will probably try to shut me down/stop me from saying this/negate my opinion/etc." Because my opinion is just one of many and the fact that I expressed it invites others to express theirs. Freedom of speech does NOT mean you can say whatever you want without consequences. It means no one can stop you from saying what you want, and they can choose to act accordingly.
And somewhere in the heart of that is where I believe tolerance lies. I don't believe tolerance is simply ignoring things you don't like. I don't think it's enough to just bury your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist. I think true tolerance exists when we live and let live. When we don't write legislature that gives privileges to some and restrictions to others. When we don't seek to control the lives of others just because our beliefs are different.
I don't believe we live in a very tolerant society. And, in my opinion, it's still one highly influenced by religion, which hasn't historically been very good at tolerance. I think it's something we struggle with, each and every one of us, because by nature, we're suspicious of anything new or different, and we're "uncomfortable" with things we haven't been around much. But we're also living in a society that is capable of rapid advancement, and change, and questioning the modus operandi.
That is a power we need to use more. Do you have core beliefs? Do you have opinions? Do you know you're absolutely, 100% right? Why not question yourself, just a tad? I do it all the time. I've changed plenty of opinions that I've realized were just outdated or wrong, after time and experience showed me what an ass I was. Even if you end up in the same place you started, true tolerance is only going to be reached when you put yourself in someone else's shoes, and think about life from their point of view, before going back to ignoring it.
If you did your research and realized your stance on a social issue actually negatively impacted other people's lives, would you still believe it? If their actions had nothing to do with you, and would impact your life in no possible way, would you still seek to control them and prevent them from living that way? How much of other people's pain is worth adhering to an ancient scripture full of conflicting messages, many of which are ignored by the majority of believers of that faith?
You might do all of the above and then still believe what you believed before and if that's the case, I certainly won't stop you. You express your opinion all you want, but I will too.
The post she's referring to is a confusing one. A lot of "I'm tolerant because I only believe gay people shouldn't get married, I don't DO anything about it. But please don't say anything mean to me because I deserve the tolerance that I don't actually give to others." At least that was my interpretation. You might have a different one.
I write about a lot of social issues, and I frequently write them in a, well, passionate tone. Yeah, passionate, let's go with that. I use strong language and I don't always make it clear that disagreements would be welcomed. Honestly, I usually struggle to form gracious replies when it does happen, so I won't pretend otherwise.
But what I don't do is say, "This is my opinion, so don't disagree with me or say anything mean." I don't cage my statements with ridiculousness like, "People will probably try to shut me down/stop me from saying this/negate my opinion/etc." Because my opinion is just one of many and the fact that I expressed it invites others to express theirs. Freedom of speech does NOT mean you can say whatever you want without consequences. It means no one can stop you from saying what you want, and they can choose to act accordingly.
And somewhere in the heart of that is where I believe tolerance lies. I don't believe tolerance is simply ignoring things you don't like. I don't think it's enough to just bury your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist. I think true tolerance exists when we live and let live. When we don't write legislature that gives privileges to some and restrictions to others. When we don't seek to control the lives of others just because our beliefs are different.
I don't believe we live in a very tolerant society. And, in my opinion, it's still one highly influenced by religion, which hasn't historically been very good at tolerance. I think it's something we struggle with, each and every one of us, because by nature, we're suspicious of anything new or different, and we're "uncomfortable" with things we haven't been around much. But we're also living in a society that is capable of rapid advancement, and change, and questioning the modus operandi.
That is a power we need to use more. Do you have core beliefs? Do you have opinions? Do you know you're absolutely, 100% right? Why not question yourself, just a tad? I do it all the time. I've changed plenty of opinions that I've realized were just outdated or wrong, after time and experience showed me what an ass I was. Even if you end up in the same place you started, true tolerance is only going to be reached when you put yourself in someone else's shoes, and think about life from their point of view, before going back to ignoring it.
If you did your research and realized your stance on a social issue actually negatively impacted other people's lives, would you still believe it? If their actions had nothing to do with you, and would impact your life in no possible way, would you still seek to control them and prevent them from living that way? How much of other people's pain is worth adhering to an ancient scripture full of conflicting messages, many of which are ignored by the majority of believers of that faith?
You might do all of the above and then still believe what you believed before and if that's the case, I certainly won't stop you. You express your opinion all you want, but I will too.
The floor is yours. What do you think?
