Tolerance

When I think of tolerance, I often think of a mother bear or lion with her cubs as they gnaw on her while she is trying to rest. I also think of my mom when she tolerated all the idiotic things I did as a kid (or my wife tolerating the stupid things I do NOW!). I also think of this great country, one of great tolerance for the so many different cultures that has made us great. This is why so many people defect to the U.S. seeking political asylum, because WE ARE tolerant. Where else can you say you think the President is a liar and should be impeached, or if you want, you can gather a group of people in a park and talk about a religion freely, or even burn a U.S. flag without fear of persecution.

Tolerance is a bantied-about term these days, and I fear our younger generations do not adequately understand what the word truly means. According thefreedictionary.com, tolerance is defined as:

1. The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.
a. Leeway for variation from a standard.
b. The permissible deviation from a specified value of a structural dimension, often expressed as a percent.
2. The capacity to endure hardship or pain.
3. Medicine
a. Physiological resistance to a poison.
b. The capacity to absorb a drug continuously or in large doses without adverse effect; diminution in the response to a drug after prolonged use.
4.
a. Acceptance of a tissue graft or transplant without immunological rejection.
b. Unresponsiveness to an antigen that normally produces an immunological reaction.
5. The ability of an organism to resist or survive infection by a parasitic or pathogenic organism.

- source- http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

It seems today another definition is being used, and that is for endorsement or support. It is widely established if you have a particular viewpoint, and you are not "open" to another point of view, (i.e., you are convicted in your own beliefs and cannot be swayed to support another viewpoint) you are labeled intolerant.

Christians are the best example of this. "Fundamental" Christians are those who believe in the Bible- that what it reads is what God intends. Fundamental too is thrown around a little haphazardly as derogatory remark (consider fundamental Muslims, for example). At any rate, Christians have particularly predictable viewpoints (for the most part) on certain aspects of life and culture.

Not surprisingly, some of the more controversial viewpoints Christians are intolerant of are a woman's choice, gay marriage, other religions, particularly Islam, and indecency on the airwaves. It strikes me as odd how ANYONE can label an American Christian as intolerant. America, after all, is the nation of tolerance. We were founded by religious people looking for freedom, and consequently created a nation (under God), which permits EVERYONE to practice the religion of their choice, as long as no one is harmed. In the military, provisions are made for all denominations, including Druids, Satanists, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Catholics just to name a few.

Wait a minute- Satanists? That's right. As an American service man or woman, you can pursue your spirituality with Satanism if you so choose. How is that intolerant? Because we don't believe in Satanism or Islam, we are intolerant. Hmmmm. Judgmental? Perhaps. Intolerant? Absolutely not.

Don't get me wrong- I wish they would find the same joy in Christ that I know, but I will not lobby for cessation of their right to practice freedom of religion.

And what about gay marriage? Are you for it? Against it? I am 100% against it! Not to be mean, but rather because it is Holy Matrimony (before God) and His instructions are marriage is between a man and a woman. Period, end of story. Do I feel gay people should be afforded similar institutions to facilitate health care, survivorship benefits, etc? Absolutely! Just don't call it marriage. Marriage is an institution which has been severely damaged over the last few years as divorces spiral out of control (it seems they have stopped growing for now), and any more assaults on an institutions I revere so highly is very problematic me. To allow just anyone to be "married" denigrates the vows I took in front of God, to my wife, and I have held fast to them. Do not destroy my institution- I love it, I want it to stay the way it is.

And for a woman's right to choose, I say absolutely! A woman SHOULD have the right to choose. She has the right to choose to have a relationship. She has the right to choose to have an intimate relationship. She has the right to have premarital intercourse. She has the right to choose to use contraception or not. She has the right to choose to keep a baby or give it up for adoption. See? Choices abound in a pro-life environment! What is so bad about that? I speak from personal experience- my biological mother was in her teens in th 60's in an affluent neighborhood outside Seattle. You think there wasn't some talk about abortion to ease any familial embarrassment? I bet there was, and I am thankful it did not come to that. Did you know there 40,000,000 fewer people alive today because of abortions? That is incredible. If there was a political force responsible for less than 1% of that figure, the U.N. would be screaming for sanctions, the U.S. would probably be stepping in, nations would be wringing their hands for the genocide, it would be a mess.

Why then are our defenseless infants euthanized for convenience, then? Why is that okay? When is it NOT okay to abort a baby? 2nd trimester? 2 weeks premature? 3-4 years post-partum? Where can we as human beings draw the line for God's work?

We can't, and any attempts to do so will be answered to some day, and that is a frightening thought.

Did you know a woman in her 20's who has an abortion is only 150% more likely to have breast cancer? That's not bad! Pretty good odds if you don't like living. Perhaps that is God giving back to the person capable of have her own flesh and blood torn out of her body. We may never know. All I want to know is why Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the other feminist activists won't let this and other dread secrets about abortions' health impacts on women. (I DO know why- its big business).

With discussions on the air like the right to kill a baby and have extramarital affairs and any other form of debauchery our society is starting to lower itself to, it is no wonder our enemies like the Islamic terrorists CAN hate us. We are apparently not convicted of our spiritual beliefs (we woul fight more fervently if we were), we allow our women to parade around in sexy clothing (their argument, not mine), we drink and eat excessively, and many other almost hedonistic acts give them plenty of reason to dislike us.

Yet we permit them to live here as they please, looking down on us for our lifestyle, putting their proverbial thumb in the eye of our great nation, burning our flag, blowing things up, etc. And WE are intolerant. We are intolerant of illegal aliens in our country, but every sovereign nation I can think of would lock someone up for being in the country illegally, but if we do it, it is racist, a hate crime, and we are intolerant.

If that is your definition, so be it! I'll be intolerant until the day I die if it means I stick to my scruples and not lose my convictions. They are who I am. If I was to abandon them, how would I explain it to my children that what I believed in all my life really doesn't mean anything. The things I have stood for and fought for are meaningless?

Teaching tolerance is the aim of http://www.tolerance.org. It all seems innocuous enough- who can say no to educating children about right and wrong when it comes to harrassing people or using labels? Funny, labels are being put on more people than I can recall in many years- ADHD, dyslexic, ADD, PTSD, I mean there are so many syndromes and conditions, who or WHAT is normal any more? This is how it all starts, and one lesson leads to another, and the next thing you know, your child thinks you are innensitive or intolerant of other people and you are wondering where this came from.

I remember having a discussion with my father when I was in 3rd grade in the 70's. In a VERY small town, one of our teachers was pregnant out of wedlock. Mom and dad and several other parents were vocally opposed to her teaching. I couldn't understand why, and naturally asked why it was so wrong. "Because you don't understand what is wrong with it."

What? That's circular reasoning, kind of like pigs don't know pigs stink. I of course now do understand the maxim he was trying to illustrate to me without illustrating it to me, and I am glad he did. Would I fight the same fight for my children? I hope so, children out of wedlock is so readily accepted, I am not sure it would do any good.

What is your definition of tolerance? Is it like mine where everyone is invited to be themselves as long as they do not attempt to foist their beliefs/lifestyles upon you? Or, is is it more vogue in that if you are of differing opinion you are intolerant?

Let's hear from you!