Tolerance

Someone recently commented on an article I put on Salvo's 'Signs of the Times' blog, which gets to the problem of the modern notion of tolerance. This is what he said,

I totally agree with this take on the idea of tolerance. In every other situation, the idea of tolerating something includes the fact that one must disagree or dislike what it is they are tolerating (e.g. pain tolerance). By definition, I can't tolerate something unless I DO disagree with it. Certainly there are people who are intolerant based on the original definition. But to refer to me (or others) as intolerant just because I happen to disagree with someone on a particular point is the first step in stifling change and growth. Obviously, if we're not ever allowed to disagree, we'll all become like passionless automatons who can no longer think for ourselves. Most of the advancements in technology, science, medicine, etc. came because someone disagreed with how things were done and came up with something new. This new definition of tolerance, I think, puts us on a path to kill that kind of ingenuity. Just my $.02. Great post!