The Logic of Intolerance

Posted on the December 27th, 2008 under Politics by Pete Gaeta

In the Wall Street Journal article Rick Warren, Obama and the Left (no by-line), they come to the conclusion that the objections from the left over the choice of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation is an example of the same intolerance that some on the left are supposedly fighting against. This raises some interesting questions. What is intolerance? When is it okay to be intolerant? Can a victim of intolerance negate their own credibility if they are, in turn, intolerant of another group?

In this case, the objection to Rick Warren stems from his organization’s intolerance of gay and lesbian people. By all accounts he is tolerant on a personal level, but draws the line at admitting unrepentant gays and lesbians as full members of his organization. Of course, those who support equal rights for gays and lesbians – including their right to marry – take umbrage at this. It has been reported that some will withdraw their support of Barack Obama for his inclusion of Warren in the inauguration ceremony. Now, Barack Obama has supported full rights for gays and lesbians, with the exception of using the word marriage to describe their unions, but otherwise affording them identical legal protection – a distinction that many can write off as mere word-parsing.

So, do people who are intolerant of intolerance cede the moral high-ground in this situation? What about people who are intolerant of people who tolerate intolerance? Kind of makes your head spin. Is it more righteous to be tolerant of people who preach intolerance while remaining intolerant of intolerance itself? What about the people who belong to the organization that preaches intolerance but may not preach it themselves? Woooeeee this gets complicated real fast, folks!

Can we agree that all intolerance is not created equal? Most everyone would likely be intolerant of people who kick puppies – do they need to recuse themselves from opposition to other forms of intolerance based on their intolerance in this area? Does all opposition to intolerance then fall into this category due to opposition being a form of intolerance itself?

One thing is for sure – even thought they lost the elections, the conservatives still hold the language advantage. Their ability to toss out a language grenade and, if nothing else, leave people confused and reeling about words and concepts is unmatched. I doubt I’ll ever untangle this one, and the time I’ve spent on it is time I’m not thinking about the other important issues of the day. There is also beauty in how they all sing in unison, no – more like an orchestra with many parts. Whether you are listening to the President, a member of Congress, Fox News, Limbaugh, Colter, Pat Robertson, a guy carrying a “God Hates Fags” sign at a rally, or reading a chain-email from your conservative buddy, you can recognize the different melodies as being part and parcel of the same underlying composition, though they may use different words.

I choose to hold out hope that we can someday all live and work together without the need to look down on groups we disapprove of. I believe President Elect Obama (President Electro-Bama) holds this same hope. I will try to find a balance between fighting for what I believe, while showing tolerance and good-will towards those I disagree with. We all need each other in the end.