This is part of a ten part series in which I “go to war” against a thing or group. Some of these posts are to be taken seriously; others are not. It is up to you, the reader, to differentiate between the two.
Every now and then I ponder what the world would be like if it was comprised of six billion or so Jakob Duehrs. Every time, almost immediately after pondering, I decide that even I would not want to live in a world where everybody was just like me. I would get annoyed far too easily. Diversity is a good thing, and variety is the spice of life. While I do not like spicy food, I do prefer a spicy life.
Intolerance is an ugly thing. At its worst it is entirely ignorant. At its best, it is grossly uninformed. For purposes of this post, I am going to take the liberty of assuming that my readers understand that giving people grief due to things they cannot change (ethnicity, gender, physical appearance, etc.) is entirely unacceptable and tolerable under no circumstances. In this post, I am looking at the aspects of others that are products of choice.
Take a moment and think about yourself. Then think about your family, your closest friend or group of friends, and your significant other (if you have one). Think about your similarities, and think about your differences. There will probably be a number of things for both categories. There are undoubtedly parts of them that you absolutely love, and there are some aspects of them, their personalities, or their lifestyles that you simply cannot stand. Because you care about them, you likely tolerate the negatives with the positives.
It is a well-known fact that I subscribe to the straight edge lifestyle. I believe in being alcohol, tobacco, and drug free at all times because I believe in having a soundness of body and mind at all times. The vast majority of those I associate with do not adhere to the straight edge lifestyle. Despite what CM Punk may say as a heel, straight edge does not make me better than them, nor do the substances I abstain from make others better than me. We are tolerant of each other’s differing opinions on this issue because it is but one piece to the puzzle that comprises who we are.
Believe me, there are a lot of people I encounter who do a number of different things. I would be a liar if I said that I am pleased with everything they do. But unless their actions are destructive or have a direct effect on me, I have no right to say or do anything about it. I do not live, so I certainly should not be in control of the decisions of others. I am going to assume you do not live your life perfectly, either. Intolerance is not the answer.
Harsh actions or reactions because someone behaves in a certain manner or does a certain thing are completely unacceptable. Treating others as second-rate citizens is a horrible and foolhardy way to get your opinion across. Humans are defensive creatures. They will begin to shut you off as a defense mechanism, and no peaceful discourse will occur.
And sometimes, as Gibbs’(NCIS) Rule #51 states, you’re wrong. Believing that you have the only right answer is foolish at best and dangerous at worst. Believing that you have the only right answer when it comes to the life of someone else is particularly foolish. Therefore, I declare war on the intolerant. I am not advocating approval of everything that everyone else does. I am not challenging you to change your opinion on the issue at hand. I am not even saying that you must accept everything that everyone else does. Believe me when I say that many of the people closest to me do things that I don’t like at all. But I deal with it and accept them as people. You should as well. Look for the positives in others. Dwell on those things instead of the negatives. We are who we are, for better or for worse.
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