Date: Thu, 23 Feb 1995 15:09:40 -0600 (CST) From: Kevyn Jacobs To: "Kansas Queer News [KQN]" Subject: COLLEGIAN: JON HART ON MAINSTREAM COALITION, GAYS, TOLERANCE FROM THE KANSAS STATE COLLEGIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1995 EDITORIAL PAGE REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION =============================== MEANING OF TOLERANCE HAS CHANGED By Jon Hart Collegian What is tolerance? This is a question I've asked myself numerous times as I've seen tolerance become a dominant ethic among students. The whole issue of tolerance seems to be a part of almost any discussion about controversial issues. In a traditional sense, tolerance is a respect for the views, beliefs and practices of others that differ from your own. This includes an ability to understand others and put yourself in their shoes. These are great character traits for anyone to attain. However, the way tolerance is used in the university setting is often a great distortion of its essential meaning. True tolerance entails a respect for the dignity of human beings regardless of their qualities. The liberal conception of tolerance, on the other hand, doesn't merely ask for a respect of differences but often demands acceptance of the beliefs and practices of others. Any person or idea that opposes this is, of course, intolerant. This species of "tolerance" is not tolerance at all, but totolerance; an ethic by which one group maintains complete control of debate under an intellectual dictatorship and bans all opposing views. What liberals often mean when they preach tolerance is that you should be tolerant of all views except those they disagree with. A good example of totolerance in action comes from the Mainstream Coalition, a new political action group whose sole purpose is to harass political candidates who are religious conservatives. The group is not at all interested in tolerating views that differ from their own. They are only interested in banning certain ideas they dislike from the public sphere. Other good examples of the hypocrisy of totolerance come from gay-rights crusaders. The goal of the gay-rights crusade is nothing short of a universal endorsement of the homosexual lifestyle. It's not enough for homosexuals to be respected as human beings -- society must accept the gay lifestyle. Anyone who says "Wait a minute, homosexuality may be immoral" is labeled intolerant, hateful, bigoted and homophobic. Imagine how absurd it would sound if Newt Gingrich threw up his hands in frustration and declared that anyone who opposed the "Contract with America" was intolerant, hateful, bigoted and republicanophobic. This is exactly what gay-rights crusaders do. Gingrich has a point of view just like the gay-rights people do. Because of totolerant ideal, the gay-rights crowd believes that they alone are justified condemning opponents with venomous language. It is ironic that the same people who preach tolerance and condemn judgmental attitudes in others are themselves intolerant, self-righteous and judgmental when their views are contradicted. This again is not tolerance but totolerance. Of those who disagree with the gay lifestyle, far more people are genuinely tolerant and respectful of homosexuals than those who are homophobic or hate gay people. Myself and many of my friends find homosexuality immoral but treat gay people with the same, if not more, respect than the average person. People who are totolerant have confused genuine disagreement with hatred for the people that are being disagreed with. Totolerant people are also often the ones who preach tolerance the loudest but are themselves intolerant of other views. It is also ironic that totolerant people often say that morality is relative to the individual and each person's values should be tolerated but they judge everyone according to their understanding of "tolerance." They are basically saying "don't you dare impose your values on us, but we can impose our values on you." The great contradiction of totolerance is that it is an absolute moral standard in a world view that rejects absolute moral standards. Not all liberal people who preach tolerance are totolerant. The growth of tolerance has fostered understanding and respect for differences, which is a first step in learning to love and care for people. Tolerance also encourages open-mindedness. However, we don't want to be so open-minded that our brains fall out. Hopefully, those who advocate tolerance can reject totolerant attitudes by simply being consistent in their beliefs and, in essence, practice what they preach. John Hart is a senior in political science. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1995, Student Publications Inc. All rights reserved. This document may be distributed electronically, provided it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of Student Publications Inc., Kansas State University.