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Tolerance
Tolerance is the appreciation of diversity and the ability to live and let others live. It is the ability to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, religion, nationality and so on differ from one's own.
We can be truly tolerant without accepting another person's beliefs. Tolerance has nothing to do with accepting another person's belief, only his right to have that belief.
For example, I can tolerate people who believe in a flat earth without having to agree with them. Likewise, I can tolerate the beliefs of people from other religions without having to accept their beliefs as true.
This misunderstanding of tolerance leads to the ridiculous situation of a position being considered false JUST BECAUSE it claims to be true.
A story is told of Socrates wading into the public bath in Athens. Following him, a young man taps Socrates on the shoulder and says, "Socrates, can I be your disciple?" Socrates continues walking, giving no response.
"Socrates, can I be your disciple?" the young man repeats. Again Socrates gives no response. A third time the young man pleads, "Socrates, can I please be your disciple?" Suddenly, Socrates wheels around, grabs the young man's head and thrusts it under the water. He holds the struggling man under until the bubbles start surfacing.
Finally, when there is virtually no hope left, Socrates pulls the young man up out of the water and says eye to eye, "Young man, when you desire truth as much as you desired air, then you can be my disciple."
We live in a world that no longer values truth. When tolerance is valued at the expense of truth, it becomes intolerance. As thinking and moral people, we should be committed to both truth AND tolerance.
We can be truly tolerant without accepting another person's beliefs. Tolerance has nothing to do with accepting another person's belief, only his right to have that belief.
For example, I can tolerate people who believe in a flat earth without having to agree with them. Likewise, I can tolerate the beliefs of people from other religions without having to accept their beliefs as true.
This misunderstanding of tolerance leads to the ridiculous situation of a position being considered false JUST BECAUSE it claims to be true.
A story is told of Socrates wading into the public bath in Athens. Following him, a young man taps Socrates on the shoulder and says, "Socrates, can I be your disciple?" Socrates continues walking, giving no response.
"Socrates, can I be your disciple?" the young man repeats. Again Socrates gives no response. A third time the young man pleads, "Socrates, can I please be your disciple?" Suddenly, Socrates wheels around, grabs the young man's head and thrusts it under the water. He holds the struggling man under until the bubbles start surfacing.
Finally, when there is virtually no hope left, Socrates pulls the young man up out of the water and says eye to eye, "Young man, when you desire truth as much as you desired air, then you can be my disciple."
We live in a world that no longer values truth. When tolerance is valued at the expense of truth, it becomes intolerance. As thinking and moral people, we should be committed to both truth AND tolerance.
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