Tolerance--with a capital T, that rhymes with P and that stands for..........of fuck it I give up!

First I'll acknowledge that yes I know it's late, and I should be sleeping because I have an exam in the morning. But I'm not.

Instead I'm thinking about tolerance. The kind of tolerance dictionary.com defines as:

The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

(The thing I love about blogs is I don't really have to give you any hard evidence or...you know...facts... I'm just spouting off my opinion and I like it.)

I ran across this other quote today, on a discussion on SKR's messageboard. In a post about christians sueing for the right to gay bash. It's originally from a south park episode:

Tolerant, but not stupid! Look, just because you have to tolerate something doesn't mean you have to approve of it! ... "Tolerate" means you're just putting up with it! You tolerate a crying child sitting next to you on the airplane or, or you tolerate a bad cold. It can still piss you off!

For the most part this isn't an issue; for better or for worse there are far more apathetic people than "hard-liners", but there are enough people who really believe in something out there that when they see something (or someone) who they feel is antithetical to who they are they need to confront it head on.

I don't think this confrontation is a bad thing, it's not hard to think of situations that would make me stand up and try and stop someone from being "evil" (to use a terribly ambiguous and unhelpful word).

The problem comes when these conflicts are ideological or philosophical I think. You see: I have NEVER seen one of these philosophical head on collisions change anyone's position on anything!

I have never read of a bigot who stooped her irrational hatred of whatever because someone pointed out it was "irrational and wrong". I have never heard of a liar who suddenly spouted only the truth because when someone called him on his falsehoods. And short of Ebenezer I have never seen greed become charity overnight.

I don't know why, but even rational people hold onto irrational ideas because they are more comfortable. Throwing someone's irrationality (from your point of view of course) back in their face only seems to piss people off and end the conversation.

I know I link this poem on the side bar thing there, but I want to point out one of it's lines that rings most true to me:

As far as possible without surrender / be on good terms with all persons.

As far as possible! Without surrender!

This means tolerance.

If you don't like what somebody says or does. Your choice.
If you feel it's your duty to try and "spread the truth" and "correct their mistakes". Great.
If you think it's going to happen the first time you tell them. Quit kidding yourself.

No, I think if people really want to introduce people to the "right" ideas you gotta do it slowly. You need to say "Hey cool you're different from me in these places". You need to talk to these people and who knows maybe befriend these people. You have to work up to "Hey look how my great ideas are working good for me, want to try them?".

The idea of a person who is more comfortable with the ideas shouted to them from pulpits and slurred drunkenly across bar tables by strangers; than the ideas they are currently working off in their own head is a little unsettling to me...(but hey, that's cool if it works for you ;) )

Even in an open honest discourse between friends I don't think I am going to change anyone's opinion the first time I throw an idea out there. I figure the best I can do is stick by my guns and keep telling people the truth (well, how I see it anyways)...and of course keep tolerating all those idiots who don't see it my way. :P