Why Tolerance is Bad for Society
One of the most prevalent buzz words that we hear thrown around today is tolerance. Everyone seems to be hip on the idea of tolerance. From politicians to professors to pop stars, they are all dropping the tolerance bomb on anyone who has anything challenging to say, especially on the ethical types who dare to critique the culture.
People like the idea of tolerance because it sounds like it is a palatable “live and let live” approach to life. It’s a mentality that sells well in a postmodern world because it seems so inclusive and it sounds so accepting. Everyone wants to be tolerant of everyone else because apparently the worst thing you can be today is intolerant or judgmental.
Tolerance, though, has become a sort of trump card that people use to shut other people down if they have anything to say that they might deem as controversial or unpopular. And, it has often been used to silence religious groups and members of the faith community to keep them from speaking out against immoral behavior or wrong belief.
The truth is that a measure of tolerance isn’t necessarily bad because it does actually stifle violent behavior and hateful words. Of course, people should never attack each other or even demean others no matter how much they disagree with someone else’s behaviors or beliefs. So, in that way, tolerance can do some good.
However, tolerance in our culture is usually not about mutual respect and charity. Tolerance is more often about acceptance of every lifestyle and equality of all ideas. The essence of tolerance today is embracing all belief systems and every individual choice, no matter how selfish or harmful one’s choices may be to oneself or to society.
In our culture, it seems that we would rather let an alcoholic drink herself to death than tell her she has a problem. And, we would prefer to allow an addict to self destruct rather than dare to tell him he is wrong. We would also rather let marriages fall apart and kids crash and burn than risk speaking up about the dangers of foolish choices and false thinking.
In our society, no one has the right to impose their moral convictions on others and no one’s views are more acceptable than any other’s. In a tolerant society, there are no rules or boundaries. There are only preferences and opinions. So, nobody really has the right to speak into the lives of others or has the obligation to listen to others speak into theirs.
In concept, tolerance sounds pretty good. But, in practice it is actually pretty bad. The reason why is because it doesn’t work. A truly tolerant society doesn’t work because it causes people not to care more about their fellow man; it causes them to care less. People start to care less when their efforts to show interest and concern are discouraged.
The truth is that when tolerance is drilled down into our collective minds and hearts, we are actually conditioned by it to have less interest and show less concern for other people. When our attempts to look in on and look after the welfare of others is culturally diminished, then we eventually stop caring altogether.
For this reason, tolerance is actually worse than hate. At least when you hate, you care. You care enough to get worked up about something. You are care enough to speak up and say something. But, when you are indifferent, you don’t even care. And, this is where tolerance leads.
Tolerance is bad because it fosters indifference. And, indifference is the opposite of love. If we love others, then we will look out for them, we will speak into their lives, and we will care enough to tell them the truth. Even if it hurts or offends, real love means telling others when they are heading in the wrong direction or when they are harming themselves or others.
It is as the Jewish-American writer, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once wrote in U.S. News and World Report, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
Tolerance is indifference. It is the opposite of everything good including love, art, faith and life. Indifference destroys cultures and harms people, and that is why it’s bad for us and bad for society.
Outstanding article, and I couldn’t agree more! A touch of tolerance is a good thing because it allows us to “tolerate” differences while still getting along with someone else. But when we totally immerse ourselves and our culture in tolerance, then it becomes the norm, which is indifference. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Jason! I appreciate the comment very much. It’s something that’s been rolling around in my head and just had to express it.
All I could think of while reading this was a quote I once heard from Jiddu Krishnamurti (I think that’s who it is): “It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” These are awesome points, bro. I know I’ll be mulling over them for a while.
M, wow, that is a great quote. Right on. Thanks for leaving it!
Hey Kent,
This is a much needed blog. I often ponder the effects of tolerance in our society—not just in the secular part but especially within the ecclesiastical walls. We have traveled so far down the path of tolerance I am afraid that we will eventually loss ourselves in the overgrowth of world comfort. This blog reminds me to be robust in faith and love people the tough way—a way that will encourage, strengthen, remind, and keep accountable the people around me, because I pray they continue to do the same for me.
I like how you prefaced your thoughts on tolerance on a positive note (paragraph 4). Then explicitly went into the dangers—I think that makes for a stronger argument.
On a side note, have you thought of making your font bigger on your posts? I am 29, so I suppose my eye sight should be good but it is pretty hard to read, even with my glasses on and my 27 inch computer screen. I am wondering if any of your other readers have this problem.
Thanks, Steven. I appreciate the suggestion. I’ll look into it and see if it will let me make the font larger.
This kind of reminds me of your sermon from James on being honest at all times… It would make a huge difference if people were 100% honest with each other and spoke from their hearts out of love instead of just tolerating the situation/circumstance/person. I think part of this is courage too… the courage and boldness to speak out when God is convicting you to say something. Easier said than done!
Ah, you are right, Brianne. Good memory…and application!
I’ve been accused of being intolerant before, and it’s always come in the context of disagreeing with someone else’s opinion. I even like to think that I was disagreeing in a graceful way without slamming their views so as not to insult the person, but it seems oftentimes merely disagreeing with someone makes you intolerant.
But tolerance goes hand-in-hand with pluralism. If all views are equally valid (tolerated) then there is no room for absolute truth. And when it comes down to it, even those that argue in favor of pluralism and against absolute truth can’t actually live it out in real life. It just doesn’t work. By calling me intolerant, that person themselves is being intolerant to my “intolerance.” Because they’ve stated that intolerance is “bad” and tolerance is “good,” thus I should not be intolerant. It’s a self-defeating fallacious cycle that somehow manages to consistently infect peoples’ thinking in our postmodern society…
Scott, I can totally relate. Tolerance is paralyzing to both relationships and healthy debate. Thanks for the comment.
Great article! Thanks for writing.
Thank you, Andrew! I appreciate the comment!