The pain – and penalty – of tolerance ~ By Pat Boone

Commentary from WorldNetDaily

By Pat Boone Posted: December 19, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated But with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever." ~ Thomas Jefferson (The above remains engraved on his monument)

Tolerance is good. Intolerance is bad. Right? Not always, in either case. Consider. One of the primary definitions of tolerance is "the capacity to endure hardship and suffering." How long should a person put up with a toothache before he sees the dentist? How long should parents indulge a spoiled child in his tantrums? How long should a woman endure those strange pains in her stomach before she consults the right doctor? Is tolerance the answer for a spendthrift "shop-a-holic" wife? For a teenager obviously building a drug habit? For a husband and father addicted to gambling? What about that dad in the news recently who was notified by Verizon that his son had incurred over $20,000 in iPhone charges, and had to take a second mortgage on their home? Americans are, and have always been, a tolerant people. We're all aware that we're an ethnic mix, that most all our forbears emigrated to these shores from other countries, and that this is truly "the land of the free." Our Declaration of Independence underscores the intended, rightful equality of all our citizens, and the First Amendment to our Constitution guarantees that Congress shall make no laws restricting the free exercise of our religious beliefs, or of the press, or our freedom of speech. Though prejudices have still plagued our society, time and good will and earnest efforts have gradually dissolved much of the earlier intolerance toward others who believe, or act, or even look different than ourselves. So tolerance – accepting others for who they are, in spite of differences – has been a steady and worthy goal. Intolerance – rejecting and defaming, even persecuting others because of differences – has always seemed unworthy, even contemptible. So it's very troubling to see that, in some very real ways, our country is paying some painful prices for our very tolerance. And in some cases, "tolerance" may stem from apathy or ignorance, or just be an outward sign of non-involvement. Look at television today. Because of the steady, unrelenting pressure from writers, producers, network executives and ad agencies that are competing for the mighty dollars TV can produce, inviolate standards of decency we all lived by have all but vanished. Where even in movies, not long ago, a man and woman were not to be seen in the same bed, the soap operas on daytime TV apparently have been given the green light to portray just about any sexual or aberrant activity humans are capable of. The FCC has all but thrown up its hands and said "we give up; you people do whatever you want. Nobody seems to care." READ FULL STORY >