talk about an OT thread! > 1) The inconsistency in what is protected. For example everyone today > talks about "tolerance." But what does this mean? What it ends up > meaning is "There are no moral absolutes so the only valid belief system > protected is one that doesn't espouse moral judgments." But what about > being tolerant to the idea that someone might feel otherwise? Why is > state sanctioned secularism the only valid religion (and yes secularism > is a belief system - a religion). It's sort of funny that those whom > often claim to be the most 'tolerant' are often the most vicious when it > comes to attacking someone that disagrees with their view of > "tolerance." There are many views I could state that would get me > labeled as being 'intolerant,' yet, somehow it's supposedly not > offensive to state "All views on X,Y,orZ are equally acceptable." To me, > and many others, that later position can be considered extremely > offensive. Why is only one view (secular humanism) considered 'non > offensive' but other religious views are some how bigoted and > intolerant. It's pure hypocrisy. >
The key difference here as I see it is how far some people want to take these "disagreements." For many conservatives (granted, this is a generalization here... so let's say "many conservative politicians" instead), it is not enough to simply state "I find Y and Z to be offensive" but they often want to take it to the next level and say "not only are Y and Z offensive, X is the only legitimate option and we should make Y and Z illegal." Consider if I was a vegan (I'm not) and you're a meat-eater. Let's say that I'm passionate about it being morally offensive to kill and consume animals. It's entirely my right to believe that and state my opinion to you and anyone else I can find to try and spread my belief system onto others (as it is your right to do likewise). However, it would be ridiculous for me to try to pass legislation or, God forbid, a constitutional amendment stating that meat consumption is illegal. It would be wrong for me to try to impose my belief system on people who have differing, but still legitimate, beliefs. To me, "tolerance" doesn't imply that I have to agree with what everyone else says or does - it just means that I am willing to allow them to believe what they want to believe. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
