The bad rap on tolerance and why they are wrong

No value has been more attacked than Tolerance. Tolerance has been called repressive, pointless and a dirty word.

I think the reason for this attack is fairly obvious. There are tons of things we should not accept. When we profess zero-tolerance, we are saying we do not accept things like sexual abuse and other practices that hurt and harm. Does that mean we should shelve tolerance completely? Of course not.

Binary

Context determines the present meaning of any term.

Take love, for example. The context in which the word love exists is everything. Simply imagine the phrase, "But I love you" at the climactic moment in a horror movie.

The attack on any word is a largely binary pursuit. That means we insist a word is either this or that. But the full context of any word you can name is key to its meaning. In some situations, tolerance, acceptance, and love mean much the same thing.

Why bother?

Tolerance is a Universal value. Considering it can lead to good.

The word suggests seeing through to the essence of things. The essence lies beyond our actions and expressions. It lies in our souls. However we define it, our essence is what lies behind everything else.

That is why it is Wrong to judge anyone without the knowledge and skill needed to arrive at a fair sense of things.

Individuals rule

Tolerant behavior shuns herd mentality.

It asks why.

No solution to any real problem can take place in a punitive context. It takes time and intense effort to move beyond the binary wheel of karma.

Dance away from thinking where prejudice prevails. Senses when forces of exclusion and ganging up are abroad. Speak out when any group is pilloried.

Triadic

In #Triadic Philosophy tolerance does not stand alone.

It stands shoulder to shoulder with helpfulness. Helping deals with underlying issues. Those who have been through trials and torments are often the best teachers of those facing the same challenges. Common sense help is the companion of tolerance.

These two values are joined by a third -- democracy.

All three work together to inspire acts that assume zero-tolerance of what hurts and harms. But this zero tolerance is merely tolerance itself working for change.

Moving

No situation is hopeless. No person is hopeless. Life is about conquering conditions that are intolerable. It is about changing conditions that are unacceptable. It is about acknowledging that to have a decent world fairness and the right to life and move and be are available to all.

Yes, we propose a tall order, but it is beyond the binary logic in which Machiavelli always wins the argument. We should never accept things as they are. We do not tolerate this reductionism.

We admit that we are fallible. We acknowledge we move on. We see each day as a new opportunity to achieve something good.