Tolerance. Progressives. These words are something of a battle cry for the far left. They love to beat people over the head with them, claiming to exemplify both. The unfortunate fact is there is nothing tolerant or progressive about the Loonies in the Far Left. They like to think they possesses both traits, but in reality they only pay lip service to it. To make matters worse, when someone like Obama stands up and actually practices what he preaches, they go completely insane.
Obama recently spoke at a Gospel concert as part of a support rally, along side popular (albeit controversial) Gospel leader and singer Donnie McClurken. The Loonie Left are going absolutely crazy, and trying their darnedest to throw him under the bus for it. The issue is that McClurken believes that homosexuality is a choice, and a curse, which can be cured by God. In fact McClurken claims to have been cured of homosexuality himself.
I could see people having a problem with this if Obama was softening his position on gay rights, and simply vote whoring, but in fact, he isn’t. Neither he nor McClurken are trying to sugar coat their views, nor are they backing down from them. Both stated their beliefs unequivocally, but said that even though they disagree on homosexual politics, they agree on a lot more and are willing to focus on their shared goals and work around their disagreements.
In other words they are tolerating their differences and working for a more progressive understanding of each other.
I guess it shouldn’t amaze me that the Loonie Left are, in fact, Loons, but it does. One of the biggest issues Obama has been pushing for is cooperation on common goals, and trying to build bridges in spite of differences. Why are folks surprised and angry when he practices what he preaches? Personally I think this incident builds credence for both Obama and McClurken. It proves that both are willing to tolerate beliefs they vehemently disagree with, so that they can focus on bigger, deeper issues which they do agree on.
This is tolerance people. Tolerance is the willingness to allow others to express beliefs, even when you don’t agree with them. How the Left got so mixed up as to believe that tolerance means “agreeing with the far left” is beyond me, but they really need to invest in a dictionary. Tolerance isn’t when everyone smiles and claims to have the same opinion. Its when two people with radically different views can link arms and support each other’s rights, despite their differences.
Its also a very progressive view. Progressive views are not defined as “views held by the uber-leftists”. They are defined as those views which move us forward as a culture. Deepening divisions and blindly insisting that everyone must agree with you is anything but progressive. The willingness to work with people you disagree with, however, is true progress.
Hopefully the Loons will come to their senses, but I doubt it. I guess those of us who are sane will at least know who to blame when Hilary Clinton is elected, ushering in 1,000 years of darkness and despair. Those of you who decided you couldn’t be bothered to learn the actual definition of tolerance, and threw the only Democratic candidate who actually practiced tolerance under the bus.
-Angry Midwesterner
The 12 Angry Men Blog 
November 3, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Your definition of progressive views is great.
Your argument however just goes to show that there is no such thing as difference in US Politics, just two groups of people sponsored by the same money. Both parties are totalitarian in nature and as such focus on being selfish, which in itself means divisive.
A massive problem is that the word liberal has been associated with the non fundamentalist group while the word conservative has become associated with an “all or nothing” religious intolerance.
A liberal is by definition progressive as is indeed a conservative. Unfortunately your political system mirrors your society where quips and arrogance pass as relevant policy.
Pressure groups in the US insist on compromise and equal time in issues where facts compete with bald face lies. However in matters where consensus and talk could really make a difference, there exists a gaping chasm of non conversation between the screaming parties.
The huge problem now is that everybody is so sure that they are right that any dissent must be wrong AND our leaders are afraid to make mistakes and own up to them because that is construed as weakness by the people.
I guess we get the government and political scene we deserve after all we created it either through inaction or through unreasonable expectations.
November 3, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Very true Dave, but I think you mistook my argument. I agree with you. I just see Obama as the last best chance for returning power to the sane minded people of America. I fear he is our last best chance to wrest power from the oligarchical Democrat and Republican parties.
November 5, 2007 at 11:16 am
The problem with actual tolerance is that it requires that I allow other people to believe and do things that I really don’t like and therefore implicitly requires me to accept at least one of two uncomfortable premises:
– Maybe, just possibly, I might be wrong.
– Respect for others imposes limits on forcing others to follow my obviously righteous ideals.
Accepting either of those is always hard for true believers of any stripe. When you’re sure you know which road leads to Hell, it’s hard to watch people happily skipping down it…
This is particularly hard for the modern Left, which has been pretty much captured by utopian ideologies with little recognition of conscientious dissent or rational disagreement. In other words, their problem with tolerance is based in the same things that lead to their embrace of tyrannical thugs. When you’re certain you’re right, and the stakes are the future of humanity, it’s tragically easy to justify the means by the ends.