Intolerance

This weeks 2-on-1 blog topic comes from Ramana. Be sure to check  his take over at Ramana's Musings.

Intolerance. The unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one's own. A my way or the highway attitude. We've all been there - on either side of that equation, if we are honest with ourselves. Or, an inability to eat a food or take a drug without adverse effects.

The latter definition of intolerance can be the cause of serious embarrassment to one who suffers something like lactose intolerance or some other malady. The air may need to be cleared quite often. With my multi Xs before the L on my frame, clearly there is not much food I cannot consume save for some nuts, including Brazil nuts and walnuts so I shall confine this discussion to the former definition - the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one's own.

I consider myself a very tolerant individual. I can and do put up with most things. I am, however, noticeably intolerant of liars and the special kind of stupid required for racism and/or those who stir up racist action and commentary.


I am not suggesting I have never told a lie. That would in and of itself be a lie. But - perhaps somewhat hypocritically, the notion that some lies are worse than others and the individual that lives in a world populated by alternate facts - those who when their lips are moving are most likely lying - aka compulsive liars breathe good air a useful human being could use. That is a far cry from the lies we perpetuate with our children - Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny - and other similar notions. If those are "real", why not Superman/Supergirl, Thor, Iron Man - any character from the Marvel or DC universes. Are all lies harmful? Are some harmless? Is what mom and dad always told us - honesty is the best policy really true? How can it be when we routinely lie to our kids?

The ethics of lying are actually pretty interesting. Lies for selfish reasons - lies that benefit the liar at the expense of another are ethically immoral as far as I am concerned. What we commonly call little white lies are typically acceptable. They are not meant to benefit us, they are designed to not hurt someone else. have you ever told someone you really enjoyed a meal they prepared for you or a gift they gave you when you did not really enjoy it? The relevant sports analogy is no harm - no foul. 

That raises a question - does the politician that lies about crowd sizes do it  for selfish reasons? Does one who routinely lies about facts and figures do it for selfish reasons? Does the politician who screams fake news and says the so-called main stream news media is the true enemy of the people and who chooses to believe the word of the leader of our longest standing enemies over his own intelligence officers have anything but his/her own selfish intentions in mind? Perhaps that special form of stupid - or just plain being stuck on dumb is the simple answer. Frankly it seems the only bipartisan activity these days is lying. The Amazing Race for politicians in this country racing to be the biggest and best liars is underway and with both parties populated by amoral sociopaths, buckle your seatbelts folks.

I despise racism in all its ugly forms. It seems we are being led into a period where any and all progress made regarding race relations in the last several decades is in jeopardy.  Why? It has suddenly dawned on some folks that around 2045 the white population in the USA will no longer be the majority. So-called white privilege will disappear. So, it seems some in our government are making a push to make some permanent changes in our culture by stepping us back to the good old days. You remember those days - closets were full of people afraid to be themselves, women were supposed to stay home and raise kids, evangelicals are attempting to firmly place their faith in our public institutions, including schools and the government is now trying to end federal funding of schools. The good old days indeed. Kids pledging allegiance to a flag in a nation under god will make it all better. Multiculturalism will go away. We will restrict immigration to only those with something to offer us who are willing to assimilate to our way of life. We need to make English the official language. Business requires less regulation. Rivers need not be clean - dump that coal ash in them. Leaders of companies and lobbyists find themselves in charge of major agencies that regulated them and regulations are disappearing like candy in a basket at Halloween. People will know their places in society. Ahem.

As the grandfather of 3 mixed-race grandkids I have seen first hand how racism effects people. I have been riding in cars in the back seat when the black drivers are pulled over for no real reason other than driving while being black.

It is not hard to see why black culture is so mistrusting of whites. Of course many whites deny the existence of so-called white privilege. They were not alive when slavery was the norm. And now they are discriminated against  when they are denied jobs so lesser qualified minorities fill quotas. Their rants against immigration are almost always against immigrants of color.

Racial unrest is stoked by a current administration that never misses a chance to fan the flames. White supremacists are enjoying an a resurgence of ugliness and hatred. White so-called militia groups take it upon themselves to patrol our southern border to keep out Central American immigrants, They stage marches and rallys and are told what fine people their groups contain by the leader of the free world. Is it any wonder those groups feel emboldened?

It would be too easy to continue a rant on intolerance - but it would be pointless. We are in the midst of a vast generational change - a change that will not only include a new generation of leaders but also a shift in the racial balance of power. I'd like to be around in thirty years to see how it is working out. Then again, maybe not.

Perhaps I am not as tolerant as I thought - I find myself getting angry just  thinking about liars and racists. Time to wrap up this week's topic. See ya next week with another 2-on-1 blog.