The word ‘tolerance’ has been spinning around my head the last few weeks, ringing in my ears.
We preach that tolerance is a virtue, but it’s often far from it.
Tolerance is a weakness, a mask by which we claim virtue.
We cannot tolerate something or someone without, on some level, thinking that they don’t belong there in the first place.
We cannot tolerate the pain and suffering of humanity or the destruction of our home without, on some level, agreeing that it must be necessary.
We do not tolerate immigrants. We welcome them.
We do not tolerate xenophobia. We fight it.
We do not tolerate warmongering or wanton destruction.
We must take action against it because “Tolerance is the virtue of a person without convictions.”
We do not tolerate change. We should expect it.
We must strive for the change we want to see in the world; Change that meets our values.
When we have conviction, when we have strong values, we cannot tolerate people or actions that go against them.
Without conviction, we can tolerate anything.
But is that anything to be proud of?