Tolerance is not enough. It has never changed the world in the manner of Mother Theresa, Mandela, Ghandi or Martin Luther King. The polls tell us Tolerance is now the value most prized by Australians. Sounds like a great idea - until you find some things you believe are so important to you, that you dont believe you should either moderate your own views & behaviour or allow the beliefs and behaviours of others to impact on you. So not many of us, thank God, will knowingly tolerate child abuse or violence in families. It seems that in the end, many of us do actually have beliefs and values that reveal many things we regard as intolerable. Without these boundaries of justice and truth societies of every kind collapse. Without them fear, loss of trust and self interest occupy centre stage and good will withers on the vine. Seems to me that humility fuelled by love is more likely to respect and value others than aguarded tolerance. I wonder sometimes if what we call tolerance may often be an indicator of widespread uncertainties and fears about where the boundaries of goodness really lie. That would indeed be a scary unsafe place to live in. Seems that for many, the feelings they have at any point, seem more real and influential than the possibility of enduring values from a real and knowable God. Funny that in this world of tolerance, increasing numbers find it intolerable that others might be given space to allow such views to be aired in the public space. It seems to me a remarkable contemporary arrogance that many in the west fail to appreciate that in this regard, we are out of kilter with the dominant global position. What then does tolerance and appreciation of one another in the global village ask of us?
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 06:46:45 +0000