Intolerant Tolerance

Posted September 4, 2009, 11:14 p.m.

I’m heading out of town for the weekend, but I wanted to share an article from First Things before I leave. George Cardinal Pell writes about ‘intolerant tolerance‘, which is a subject I have found very interesting.

Many on the political left claim the mantle of ‘tolerance’ and predicate many of their political and moral stances upon being ‘tolerant’ of others. Gay rights and gay marriage issues are often couched in these terms, for example, and we right-wingers are oft’ labeled as being ‘intolerant’ because we have different opinions on this and other issues.

What is interesting though is that tolerance means accepting others opinions even if you disagree with them. I am ‘tolerant’ when I support and defend the rights of (as an example) anti-war protesters to march on Washington, even when I disagree with them. This, however, doesn’t go both ways these days. Left-wingers would be ‘tolerant’ to support and defend my rights to march for what I believe in too, but if I were to march against abortion or against the legalization of gay marriage I’d be labeled a misogynist, homophobic, hate-monger unworthy of speaking in the public square (and soon I might be subject to arrest for ‘hate speech’).

We must be tolerant of others’ Constitutionally protected liberty to live, speak, practice their religion, bear arms, and so on without fear of repercussion. If we, as a society, don’t protect these core, enumerated human rights, then we have truly lost the republic and our liberty.

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.

Quotes

This makes altars and wombs the two most sacred places on earth, because there God repeatedly performs his two greatest miracles, transubstantiation and the creation of immortal souls.

The West did not get rich because of slavery or imperialism or because of a neocolonialism that supposedly siphons off the riches of Third World countries. It is successful because of its culture, rooted in the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian heritage, because of the distinctive institutions that developed over centuries, because of the freedom granted to individuals.

In short, [Supreme Court justices] are independent of the people, of the legislature, and of every power under heaven. Men placed in this situation will generally soon feel themselves independent of heaven itself.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

If the people are stupid, they can be easily governed.

Faith is not the childish belief in magic. That is ignorance or even willful blindness. It is instead the realization that the tragic irrationalities of life must be counterbalanced by an equally irrational commitment to the essential goodness of Being.

I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.

Faith and reason are indeed interdependent. One of the great secrets of the universe is that reason leans on faith every bit as much as faith leans on reason.

Digitalization dehumanizes a conversation. This usually happens in a hidden, insidious way, but sometimes it can also be felt very sharply.

The whole history of the world shows that legislation will generally be both unwise and ineffective unless undertaken after calm enquiry and with sober self-restraint.

Evil can be eradicated from the world at large only when it is eradicated from the hearts and lives of individual human beings. Only when there is virtue in souls can there be peace and happiness in society.

You can get any job done through sheer force of will—and by knowing what you’re talking about.

Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? . . . If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?

The key is in remembering that a model is a tool to help us understand the complexities of the universe, and never a substitute for the universe itself.

To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.

Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws. . . .

With us the governing class is always saying to itself, ‘What laws shall we make?’ In a purely democratic state it would be always saying, ‘What laws can we obey?’

There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.

Genuine authority constrains the arbitrary exercise of power. This constraint manifests itself when the authoritative agent cares, and takes responsibility, for those over whom the exertion of power is possible.

There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.

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