As the tweet below makes clear, feminism is back. And that is great news. Because with feminism, the core values that will enable a good future are present. Among these is Tolerance. Tolerance is one of the ways we can progress beyond the worst evils of the past.
The purpose of life is to rid ourselves of the legacy of what some have called the fall. It was not a fall. It was a recognition that life is choices. Our choices make all the difference. When we are fallen, we commit harm. When we harm we hurt. When we hurt we do what can only be called evil.
This is the reason we have forgiveness. All of us do some grade of evil. Without forgiveness, we cannot be free to move forward.
Life choices
When we choose our way forward we have the option of selecting among the values that have always accounted for progress. The first among these, in the thinking that underlies cybercommunities, is tolerance. Tolerance is a decision to bet on us. It is not the dark, negative view that pervades the thinking of those who often turn out to be the authors of evil.
Political relevance
Tolerance strikes its contemporary critics as politically correct and therefore the province of sissies and fools. Tolerance of actually the foundation of strength. The word means giving and enduring and being flexible and hanging in.
It underlies the sort of love one gives over time to another who may need special care. It is patience and a conscious willingness to stand up for what is right. It is the foundation of rights.
March, Huddle, Fight: Why Feminism Is Back in a Big Way https://t.co/srSW37BXp2
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) April 4, 2017
Cybercommunities run on values
Tolerance along with helpfulness and democracy are the values we champion in cybercommunities.
We do not flaunt them. We do not claim we are better than others. We simply recognize that we cannot move forward as the world if we do not create a platform we can stand on.
There is no better argument for this today than a police department in one of the worst crime areas in the United States that does not fight back. It loves back. It practices tolerance. This development along with the return of feminism as a massive voice for fairness and inclusiveness is a sign that a tipping point toward positive, universal change is not far off.
