At what point does respect and tolerance evaporate? As Alexis de tocqueville noted, “tolerance is nothing more than indifference”
I don’t actually agree that it’s indifference. That’s like pretending you don’t care when actually you do care but are intimidated and cowered.
Tolerance is a comforting ideal or salve deployed by weak societies when confronted with something or a situation they don’t want to deal with for fear of giving offence or making enemies.
It’s like unlimited free speech. It’s great in theory but at what point does free speech (or tolerance) become abuse of free speech and used as a weapon against societal harmony?
Tolerance and unlimited free speech are flip sides of the same coin and are both great in theory but both will be abused and that’s what’s going on with Islam in places like London and France.
Societies have been conditioned so that to criticise or rebuke is regarded as intolerant (and no one want to be regarded as intolerant) so the behaviour is allowed to continue, fester and metastasise and everyone’s shocked dismayed and surprised when it takes over.
As was once noted by Australian Lieutenant General David Morrison:
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭”
Which means that inaction in the face of something unacceptable, whether it’s a minor issue or a serious problem, signals tacit approval and can lead to its normalization.
It implies that leaders have a responsibility to set the tone by addressing substandard behavior or conditions, as their inaction or silence will be understood as tolerance or consent.
Or as was noted by Sir Thomas More (or was it Greek philosopher, Plato), “𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭”