In reflecting back on the testimonies of those involved in resistance activities during the war, it was interesting to hear people talk about tolerance. The traditional definition of tolerance is that you can value and respect an individual’s belief without necessarily approving or participating in them. You can even reject someone’s lifestyle, but still love and accept him or her as a person created in the image of God.
This was partly the idea and intent behind the authors of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. They embraced a certain “Ethical Theism”; a belief that right and wrong are absolute and are decided and communicated to us by God. “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” In other words, everyone has an equal right to believe what he thinks is true and right. But acting upon it can be a different matter.
I know it’s not exactly this simplistic, but the point I’m making is that during WW2, many looked the other way and did nothing to help those being persecuted. They did so in the name of tolerance. They were tolerating a regime that decided certain individuals – men, women and children – needed to be exterminated. They were tolerating an agenda that sought the death and destruction of others. They were putting up with the injustice….not engaging at ANY level…so as to not get into trouble themselves, and save their own skin.
This is when a call for intolerance was needed. And this was the courage of those in the Dutch Resistance.
Today’s definition of tolerance is slightly twisted. It teaches that all beliefs, lifestyles and values are equal. It is now no longer enough to just “live and let live” but now – to be truly tolerant – we must AGREE that their beliefs are as valid as our own. The “new tolerance” says ‘what I do is who I am’….judge my actions and you judge me. Criticize my culture and you criticize me. That is backwards.
If we’re not careful, history can and will repeat itself. That’s why historical preservation is important. When leaders like Iranian President, Ahmud Ahmadinejad, question the reality of the Holocaust…..a spirit of indifference, and then tolerance, can infiltrate our mindset.
I meant what I said in my last post about the members of the resistance loving their neighbors as themselves.
Tolerance looks the other way – love takes risks.
Tolerance costs nothing – love costs everything.
May we seek to know…and understand….the difference.
~ corey ~
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