IN PRAISE OF INTOLERANCE

We need a revival of good, wholesome, intolerance in America; a revival of intolerance for certain speech and behavior that never should have been, and shouldn’t be, tolerated. Preachers need to help bring this about, and parents need to carefully inculcate into the minds and lives of their children the kind of intolerance that is demanded throughout the Bible in verses such as the following:

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth.”—Prov. 8:13

“Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”—Rom. 12:9

Far too much is being tolerated now by the American public, even by Christians, that wouldn’t have been tolerated not that long ago. Many Christians, and other at least sensible people, have come to believe that tolerance of anything and everything is a virtue. It isn’t. There are times and situations when tolerance isn't a virtue, but is nothing less than a vice.

Much in terms  of every day public behavior is tolerated now that wouldn’t have been tolerated for a moment in the recent past.  For instance, the public mockery of Christianity or the public desecration of the American flag or our historic monuments that goes unpunished now, would not have been tolerated. The invasion of children’s libraries by drag queens and of women’s restrooms by male perverts would have been not only intolerable, but unthinkable not that long ago. Such tolerance for the intolerable is an indictment on American character and incompatible with the survival of a nation of free and happy people.

Freedom of speech and expression has its limitations in terms of what should and shouldn’t be tolerated. Someone has said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” But the demands of civility and self-respect require people of character to recognize that there are limitations to what should be tolerated within the context of freedom of speech expressed either verbally of visually.

No one has a “right” to sling verbal sewage into our ears or eyes. They have no right to expect toleration by us for any dirty profanity they may stupidly and insultingly assume that they can put into our ears by way of conversation or into our eyes by way of an imprint on a tee shirt or ball cap.  It’s time for people to once again demonstrate intolerance for the intolerable.

A large part of society has become too ignorant to recognize their ignorance, and too profane to distinguish between what is profane and what isn’t, and feels at liberty now to take liberties in behavior and speech that weren’t taken in the past. Low-life people in high places of influence are to blame for much of this. But this is the result fundamentally, of the diminishment of the “salt” and “light” of Christian witness and influence that has contributed so much to the general loss of anything like a moral compass in our society.

Aristotle was right when nearly three millennium ago, he warmed that, “Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society.” Americans, especially Christians, in whatever ways they can, need to stop being apathetic and tolerant of speech and behavior that shouldn’t be tolerated. And the place to start is with the language and conduct that is permitted in the home.