Why it is Convenient to be Tolerant

"Tolerance" is an overused word, which is rarely understood. For some people it means "laissez faire," not to be involved or to be passive, while for others tolerance is something that directly confronts their convictions, for how can I be tolerant if I think that my ideas are right and those of others are wrong.

In the first case, this attitude leads to inaction, and then tolerance becomes "permissiveness," as may be observed in many modern societies, where people abstain from criticizing injustice, rude manners, and growing evil. This is a negligent and coward attitude, characterized by shameful silence.

In the second case either the person falls into active fanaticism, not only frontally rejecting different ideas but also actively fighting against any type of tolerance, or the person adopts an attitude of resignation, which is not the same as permissiveness. He or she adopts and attitude of resignation because he/she feels weak, in certain circumstances, and cannot face the people who have different opinions, although deep down he/she is waiting for the occasion to get the upper hand and impose his/her criteria onto the others. We may say that it is a sort of latent or impotent fanaticism.

Fanaticism, either active or impotent, is a proof of weakness, for the fanatics cannot live happily and by themselves in their own ideas, without caring about what others might think. To survive with their ideas they need the public acquiescence, they cannot bear to listen to differing voices, because they lack strength, and because their ideas can be destroyed in the blink of an eye.

Let's take an example of strength from nature: our organs. There are two fundamental forces acting in our body, one is in charge to constantly build and rebuild our organs, feeding and multiplying our cells. The second force is related to our immune system: it is in charge to block, not only the harmful agents from the exterior, but also to destroy our own damaged and pre-cancerous cells. Thanks to the interaction between the two, our organs are regenerated and renewed. Precisely in certain diseases like Aids, where there is and enormous deficiency in the immune system, there are many cancers and infections, due to the failure of this self-cleansing function.

In other words, it is not enough to defend oneself against foreign agents; one also needs to act against his/her own degeneration and weakness.

If we apply the latter to our social life, we will naturally arrive to the conclusion that the best manner to keep our convictions healthy is to calmly confront them with contrary ideas, and at the same time to review ours, and thus find flaws that may crumble the whole building of our belief system. In this way our beliefs will become strengthened, renewed and powerful.

For this reason, tolerance is good and healthy, for it allows us to get in touch with the world around us, to verify whether our points of view are right or not, and if they need to be modified or reinforced.

Besides, authentic tolerance not only is a sign of strength, but is also an active way to fight against evil, since it allows us to talk freely about the principles that we consider just, without fears, because tolerance works in both directions: tolerance for the others and tolerance for oneself.

True tolerance is generous, for if I believe in something, it is the outcome of a series of circumstances (family, education) personal experiences and psychological processes. If I consider my ideas to be the best, I should give thanks to God for allowing me to know them, and for giving me the opportunity to think and evolve, to act and finally to acquire a right point of view. And if God was generous towards me, why is He not going to be generous with others too? The rest of mankind also has the right to reach the point I already reached, to experience it like I did, to think, to meditate and to live enough so that the compassion of God could allow them to reach the Truth.

If I am a fanatic, which does not allow anyone to progress in his own manner, if besides this I kill the person who does not think like me, or I put him/her in jail, then I am placing myself above God and his mysterious ways.

True Tolerance is therefore active, it is not passive permissiveness, it allows me to freely express who I am and to invite others onto my path with confidence. Tolerance means no fears; not to be afraid of others because they think differently, it is generosity because it gives others the chance to find the Truth that I already found, and it is the strength and the capacity of renewal.