Apathetic Tolerance

This post will likely make a lot of people mad. Of course, many of you would say that’s nothing new.


I have been considering this thought for quite some time though and I just need to say it: I don’t think people want to think for themselves anymore. It’s easier to be told what to think by the media than to go against the grain and argue a point that you feel to be correct (or incorrect).

I am tired of standing on the other side of the argument fence. I’m tired of name calling and my motives being questionable because I am religious or racist or judgmental. From where I’m standing, the very purpose of an opinion is to be true to one’s own beliefs, regardless of if others agree.

I have tried to spur on the thought process of others by posting links and current event articles on Facebook. The oddest things get people riled up. The Pope says condoms are okay for male homosexuals or prostitutes, but not for people who don’t want to have any more children and I’m told that I’m not to speak poorly about “the Holy Father”. First of all, the Pope isn’t the Holy Father – GOD is the Holy Father. Second, birth control isn’t just about birth control. There are several medical reasons for being on birth control that have nothing to do with contraception; such as regulation cycles and hormonal imbalances. But that isn’t the point of the article. The point is the absolute hypocrisy of the statement that practicing sinners can use condoms so they don’t spread diseases, but people who just don’t want to have children every time they have sex are breaking some law. Nowhere in the Bible can I find a verse where it says that families can’t practice birth control, or how many children are allowed or disallowed. There are, however SEVERAL places where prostitution, homosexuality and other sexual sins are called abominations. Have the holy father smoke that in his pipe.

For most people, it’s more than fine to denigrate and lambast Sarah Palin, while they make a demagogue out of people like Joy Behar and Nancy Pelosi. None of them are perfect, and honestly, just because I’m a conservative doesn’t mean I think Sarah Palin ought to run for President -- nor does it mean I’ll vote for her just because she’s a conservative (but that’s another post entirely). But, she certainly isn’t the ONLY one on the planet who says things that are newsworthy. Unfortunately, women are held to a higher and much more critical standard in politics than men are – if you’re a conservative that is. Joy Behar can call someone a bitch and calmly explain that it’s what she calls her friends; Nancy Pelosi tells people to sign the bill and read it later; while Sarah Palin confuses North and South Korea, corrects herself, and makes a damn fine point about the crises, and all we hear about is how stupid and unqualified she is. Just to make a point, do you KNOW how many states there actually are in the United States of America? Even if our President made a mistake, how do you get 57 states out of 50? (usually verbal mistakes in speeches revolve around mumbled or jumbled words, or a combination of two words in the speech. I’m not sure how he was confused with the number 50 versus 57)

We can disagree all day about abortion being legal or gays having the right to marry. But when presented with facts or honest positions regarding either subject, those that disagree with either (or both) are called religious bigots. What that says to me is that one doesn’t believe my opinions can be separate from my religion, which simply isn’t true. Granted many of my beliefs have religious teachings behind them, but I could also point out many beliefs others have in the name of religion have no religious directives whatsoever (alcohol, birth control, debt).

What I take from all this is that people are either apathetic, ignorant or wimps. We have become so afraid of hurting someone’s feelings that we no longer have standards, morals, values. Arguing, debating and disagreement have become name-calling bullying tactics that undo the fabric of what this country was framed to do. We are a diverse country – not a country of tolerant wimps.

Tolerance in this day and age means ‘don’t tick anyone off and don’t offend anyone’. Don’t express opinions that might be against the norm; my friend Jen calls this “puppies and rainbows”. I’m not a puppies and rainbows kind of person. Yes, I love puppies and I enjoy rainbows, but is that really all we can talk about now? Expressing an opinion about something other than weather and football should not be considered odious and extremist. Our country was founded on the beliefs that every person is of the same worth, but not every person has the same values. Coercing one person’s values on another is intolerant and prejudiced; but in our quest to offend none, we are forcing all to behave the same.

I realize it’s not personal, but maybe it should be. Maybe we should all start thinking about how apathy affects our lives on a daily basis. Apathy is what has taken prayer out of schools, allowed criminals to go free, sanctioned terrorists to come into our country. People are more passionate about their sports teams than they are about laws and rights in our country.

At some point we need to make the decision to stop trying to be everyone’s best friend and make a few enemies by standing for what we believe in. We might find we have more friends with common opinions that we think…