Practice what you preach

A more serious blog this time - I'm going to go off on a pet peeve. Basically I got tired of those online quizzes. :-D Don't worry, I'll put one up again when I'm feeling shallow. Now on to my ranting and raving... this one's on the so-called "tolerance" of others. I'm sorry liberals - it's going to sound like I'm attacking you, although others are guilty too. (Who am I kidding? I'm not sorry. You people go off on your own blogs all the time. It's a free country.) I have many friends who are liberals. In fact, very few of my friends are conservative - I look right-wing compared to most of my pals. I realize I'm asking for some rotten tomatoes in writing this, but it's something I feel that SOMEONE needs to be honest and bring it up, and it may as well be me.

Usually, liberals are the ones emphasizing tolerance, in regards to race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, how you like your eggs, whatever. I wouldn't have a problem with this if those emphasizing tolerance were actually tolerant. The truth is, only a handful of liberals actually practice what they preach. The majority of liberals (the ones that passionately cry and declare conservatives intolerant) are JUST as guilty of intolerance as the intolerant conservatives are. Take for example the aftermath of the past presidential election. Maybe it's me, but comments like "it's those evangelical Christians," "the incompetence of uneducated people made me lose faith in this country," and "stupid Republicans" sure doesn't sound so tolerant. Another great example is a comment a freshman in my ECON class made to me: "Those [expletive] Republicans! Can't we just kill them all? The world would be so much better." To which I remarked sweetly, "That's a very loving, respectful, and tolerant attitude. Keep it up!"

Sounds like the only opinions that these particular liberals are willing to accept are the ones that sounds like their own. But isn't that the root of intolerance in the first place? Or how about when one side accuses the other side of playing partisan politics, even when it is clear that the accuser is contributing to the situation by standing by his/her party line as well?

Face it - BOTH conservatives and liberals are guilty of intolerance. And since those of you who preach tolerance are so accepting of the opinions of others, I hope you will be appreciative of the tips I'm about to give.

1. Quit putting "tolerance" in where it is not needed. This is exemplified in dumb questions that journalists ask, such as "how does it feel to be an Asian female in this role?" Yeah. The last thing I need is for you to draw attention to the fact that I'm Asian, female, and a product of affirmative action. (Oh wait! Affirmative action doesn't actually help Asians at all.... :-o) What happened to my skills and abilities in the aforementioned role? Why did the focus have to shift to something unrelated to the role itself? Stop blowing the race/gender/religion/how-you-like-your-eggs-cooked thing out of proportion.

2. Be tolerant. Well, imagine that. :-p Don't get me wrong - I can name a few people who I consider incredibly patient and tolerant of others, and that's incredibly admirable in my book; I want to strive for those sorts of qualities. But for the most part, the folks who scold about the lack of tolerance are just as guilty of it (though few will admit it!!). I will be the first to say I'm not completely tolerant - I am trying to be more tolerant, but I'm not totally there yet. Therefore I'm not going to nag you and point out that you're intolerant (unless of course, you preach tolerance and don't act on it - you just asked for someone to check you on it).

3. Reminder: utopia can't actually be achieved. Want an end to intolerance? Don't fool yourself. Think realistically, oh you who love logic. Even if you are very tolerant of others, someone else may not be and that isn't something you can control. You can't run their thoughts and feelings. I'm not by any means encouraging you to be intolerant - just bear in mind that others might not follow your example, so don't get all upset if they don't. I don't think there's anything wrong with a gentle reminder as a friend, but if you can sense that someone is not convinced by your "tolerance talk", drop it. You might alienate that individual further if you don't know when to shut up.

There. I've said all I needed to say on this one, and I used the word tolerant and its derivatives more in this blog than I've ever used it in life. :-) Of course, I don't expect any major changes after people read this... like, I'll turn around tomorrow and wow! Suddenly the world is more tolerant! Teehee. I do hope you'll think about my observations though.