Welcome to your life
There's no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
--Tears for Fears
Those on the Left often claim that they stand for 'tolerance.' In multiple interviews this past weekend I heard Juan Williams note that he used to believe this until his experiences proved otherwise.
He suggested that tolerance with the Left ends when behavior is perceived as crossing the party line. Say or do something that this group does not like, and you will face sanctions.
Viewed thru this lens, the conduit for these sanctions was NPR, an organization that is sympathetic to leftist views.
One could certainly argue that Juan Williams has an axe to grind based on the events of the past week. However, it is also straightforward to offer conceptual support for his argument.
Philosophy of the Left is grounded in collectivism. Collectivism is belief in the interdependence of people in an overarching group setting. It prioritizes goals of the group over goals of the individual.
This characteristic can lead to some political advantages. For example, if you can get people to buy into your philosophy and join your group, there's strength in numbers--good for activism and for building SIGs in 'majority rules' democratic process where political favor is for sale.
Problems arise when someone goes against the group. If an individual violates the rules of the collective, then they are subject to sanction: social ("You're a bigot."), economic ("Fire that guy."), perhaps even physical (as we have witnessed in many collectivist regimes).
Indeed, there is a case to be made that the Left, due to its collectivist underpinnings, is likely to be intolerant by nature.
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6 comments:
The historical experience of socialist countries has sadly demonstrated that collectivism does not do away with alienation but rather increases it, adding to it a lack of basic necessities and economic inefficiency.
~Pope John Paul II
Matt, I think you and I have a fundamental difference of opinions about what tolerance means. It does not mean everything everyone says is ok in some hippy dippy way. It is more rigorous than that, working to create a world in which people's unalienable rights are respected. So preaching tolerance and identifying bigotry are not in conflict. In fact, to live in a world that practices tolerance, we HAVE to call out speech and actions that conflict with that.
I think what Williams said about Muslim garb is wrong -- morally and because of his position as an objective news analyst. However, I defend both his right to say it and my right to say it's wrong.
If Williams wants to really have a frank discussion about Muslims in America, there are way better forums than on O'Reilly's show. In fact, I have high hopes that you will hear something much more nuanced on the Diane Rehm show today at 11.
Tolerance is more of a both/and than an either/or.
And accusations of leftist sympathies sound like McCarthyism.
One of those interesting ironies it seems...collectivism positively (rather than negatively) related to alienation...
JPII also criticized capitalism, by the way, as an "all-consuming desire for profit and the thirst for power at any price with the intention of imposing one's will upon others, which are opposed to the will of God and the good of neighbor."
Also wanted to say that I have thought about your ideas here. I agree that the quest for a tolerant world can lead those who are in opposition to the fundamental ideas of tolerance to feel marginalized. In fact, that's what I think is behind the Tea Party and the rise of the Angry White Man demographic.
To me, that means that tolerance is a work in process, just like every other theory. The answer is not to throw out the ideals of tolerance, though.
General extension of the original post to any group seems to be: the more cohesive the group the *lower* the tolerance.
Strong groups are more collectivist, which means behavior that violates group norms is less likely to be tolerated.
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