"Tolerance"

You know, a lot of people throw around the word tolerance. Be tolerant of other people's beliefs, be tolerant of other people's actions, pets, or habits, be tolerant of "crazy uncle Eddie", etc. Tolerance seems to be the buzzword of the politically correct establishment, but what does tolerance truly mean? I don't disagree with the concept of tolerance as defined by Merriam-Webster, "sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own", but I think some people don't view tolerance in this way. Some people view tolerant behavior as seeing practices or hearing beliefs that differ from yours and keeping your mouth shut if you disagree. Some people go even farther by holding the viewpoint that tolerant behavior is accepting other people's beliefs and actions as equally acceptable as yours.

My world view allows me to separate people from their beliefs or actions so that I can tolerate and even like the person, yet utterly and completely disagree with their behavior or belief structure. I believe in a moral right and a moral wrong, therefore I believe that some actions and beliefs are wrong and some actions and beliefs are right. I also think that you can share with a person that you disagree with their actions and beliefs and choose to do one of two things, accept the person as-is, occasionally arguing points of view or choose not to associate with the person with whom you disagree. Thinking they are less of a human being or somehow stupid for not sharing your beliefs is intolerant, disagreeing verbally or choosing not to associate with those people does not make you intolerant.

I live in the Bay Area, a mixing pot of culture, race, and nationality. Tolerance, as defined, is and should be practiced on a daily basis. Yet, there are those here who take the extreme view of tolerance and levy charges of intolerance at anyone who speaks of another's personal behavior or beliefs as wrong. These individuals, in many cases, are the same people who cannot tolerate our president. These individuals have proposed to name a utility plant after him, specifically, a sewage treatment plant. I think this type of behavior is rude, disrespectful, hypocritical, and given the personal nature of the attack very intolerant, but thankfully tolerated by our bill or rights, the same bill of rights that gives us the opportunity to voice our opinions however unpopular they may be.