Tolerance is not a moral precept

Tolerance is not a moral absolute; it is a peace treaty. Tolerance is a social norm because it allows different people to live side-by-side without being at each other’s throats. It means that we accept that people may be different from us, in their customs, in their behavior, in their dress, in their sex lives, and that if this doesn’t directly affect our lives, it is none of our business. But the model of a peace treaty differs from the model of a moral precept in one simple way: the protection of a peace treaty only extends to those willing to abide by its terms. It is an agreement to live in peace, not an agreement to be peaceful no matter the conduct of others. A peace treaty is not a suicide pact.

Sehr interessanter Artikel. Warum Intoleranz nicht zu tolerieren ist.

A decision was made, in essence, to accept the risk of the monster rather than the reality of the war.

In dem Moment, wo die Erkenntnis verloren geht, dass man die Gefahr des Monsters in Kauf nehmen muss, um bestehen zu können – dann wird’s gruselig.

What this teaches us is that tolerance, viewed as a moral absolute, amounts to renouncing the right to self-protection; but viewed as a peace treaty, it can be the basis of a stable society. Its protections extend only to those who would uphold it in turn. To withdraw those protections from those who would destroy it does not violate its moral principles; it is fundamental to them, because without this enforcement, the treaty would collapse.

Eigene Gedanken dazu machen! Aber jedenfalls defintiv lesenswert.