Over thirty years ago, I saw a message on the outdoor sign of a local church stating "Broad-minded tolerance is peaceful co-existence with evil." It has stayed with me all these years. I have always viewed this as an incredibly intolerant statement and have quoted it as evidence of the dogmatic and narrow view some people have about ideas that are different from their own. But recent events have caused me to re-evaluate my position.
We have just finished a particularly brutal and unpleasant political campaign season. The candidates and their surrogates have lowered themselves to some of the worst forms of invective and ad hominem arguments that we have ever experienced. It has been ugly and it was an embarrasment in front of the rest of the world. And to use a somewhat trite phrase, it has trickled down to the common discourse. I have seen some incredibly nasty and uncalled-for comments on Facebook. The tenor of the discussions (I use the term loosely) has been poisonous. Friendships have ended and others have been severely damaged. Family members are no longer speaking to each other and holiday plans have changed as a result.
I have always considered myself a tolerant person. I try to keep an open mind. My family and friends are an eclectic group whose political views run the gamut from right to left and everywhere in between. In the vast majority of cases, I believe that even those whose ideas are completely different than mine have the best interests of our society at heart. I can have a discussion with someone I disagree with while remaining civil and without the need to convince them that my ideas are correct. I can accept that other viewpoints than my own can also be valid. I was about to write "equally valid" and I had to stop myself. There is the rub. Not all points of view are equally valid.
This election has brought out some very regressive ideas. Racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry have reared their ugly heads. The Trump campaign did not cause these feelings, but its rhetoric did give at least tacit permission for their expression. In some ways we should be grateful. It has brought all of this hate out in the open. Many people thought that our society had moved past these "isms," that we had become more advanced and enlightened. Unfortunately this is not so and if that is the case it is best that we are aware of it.
This brings me back to my original thought. I now have to revise my opinion of the statement on that church marquee. I believe in tolerance. I believe in respecting other people's beliefs and ideas even when they differ from my own. But I recognize that there must be a limit to tolerance. Some ideas cannot and should not be tolerated. Not only must they not be tolerated, we must take action to prevent them from taking root and controlling the policies and actions of the incoming administration. You and I may disagree as to what that action should be, but let us not sit idly by under the rubric of tolerance and let our country be warped by those who espouse these ideas.
So for my personal credo I modify the above statement as follows:
"Unlimited, unconditional tolerance is peaceful co-existence with evil."
