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Why tolerance is preferable to acceptance

By Kenny St. John, Opinions Editor, on January 24, 2012 11:13 PM

I watch the all-too-numerous Republican debates for a few reasons. One, as an American citizen, I feel obligated to know where each candidate stands. Two, as a Democrat who is going to vote for Barack Obama come Election Day, I like to “know thy enemy,” so to speak. And third, they can be quite entertaining. From the first few debates when Mitt Romney and Rick Perry actively showed bitter contempt for each other, to now, when Newt Gingrich was absolutely furious after being put on the spot regarding his past marital misdeeds and infidelities by the moderator, I do admit that the debates are fun to watch.

However, I feel that some of the positions that certain candidates (I’m looking at you, Rick Santorum) hold on social issues are quite frankly, ignorant and irresponsible at best and downright malicious, intolerant and oppressive at worst. Santorum has stated, both in debates and on the campaign trail that gays, “shouldn’t have the privilege of enlisting in the armed forces” and would annul all existing gay marriages. In addition, if president he would cut off federal funding for birth control.

Santorum tries to justify these positions by saying that, “our civil laws have to comport with a higher law: God’s law” and “we have Judeo-Christian values that are based on biblical truth . . . And those truths don’t change just because people’s attitudes may change.”

Hold on just a minute. This is America. Forcing one’s religious beliefs on other people, as Santorum is doing here, contradicts the very notion that this country was founded upon. Santorum is making a direct and concerted attack on the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of, and from, religion. In the words of Dean Obeidallah of CNN, Santorum is proposing a sort of “Judeo-Christian sharia” to impose upon the American people.

This view is disturbingly similar to Islamic theocracies, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, which use sharia as both a religious and civil code of law. In America, if a candidate were to invoke the Quran as a basis for his or her positions, it would be effectively political suicide. The irony here is that Santorum has previously claimed that Muslims want to force Sharia law upon non-Muslims (a dubious assertion), yet, he would govern the country on Biblical, rather than Constitutional principles. Whether it is coming from a devout Muslim, or a God-fearing Christian, the existential threat to the sacred principle of separation of church and state is clearly apparent.

Now I’m not saying Santorum cannot hold his religious beliefs. In fact, he has every right to hold whatever religious beliefs he chooses, even if they oppose abortion and gay marriage. However, he does not have the right to impose these personal, religious views on the country.

John Kerry put it best. In the 2004 election campaign, Kerry stated, “I can’t take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America.” At the same time, Kerry is personally pro-life due to his religious beliefs, but is politically pro-choice stating, “First of all, I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins. I’m a Catholic – raised a Catholic. I was an altar boy. Religion has been a huge part of my life, helped lead me through a war, leads me today. But I can’t take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it for someone who doesn’t share that article of faith, whether they be agnostic, atheist, Jew, Protestant, whatever. I can’t do that. But I can counsel people, I can talk reasonably about life and about responsibility.”

This is where the notions of “tolerance” and “acceptance” come into play. “Tolerance” means to have “a fair, objective, and permissive attitude towards opinions and practices that differ from one’s own.” Acceptance means “to approve, the act of assenting or believing.”

Let’s put these definitions into current context.  John Kerry is a Catholic. The Catholic religion forbids abortion and gay marriage. Yet, Kerry realizes that he cannot force his faith upon others and adheres to the First Amendment and the separation of church and state by being “tolerant” of other people’s religions and views, even if they are opposed to his own. Rick Santorum, on the other hand, is also a Catholic, but is seeking to force his faith on others, an extreme form of “acceptance” and a blatantly unconstitutional stance.

The fact that Rick Santorum even won the Iowa primary is a sad testament to the current state of American politics. Even though Santorum ultimately has no shot at holding the highest office in the land, he represents a minority demographic, the Christian right, which has historically and dangerously exerted a pull on the political system far beyond its numbers.

With this in mind, pro-choice advocates and those in favor of gay marriage need to realize that they are not going to change everyone’s mind. Forcing everyone to “accept” abortion and gay marriage is just as bad as using the political process to force religious beliefs, Christian or otherwise, on other people.

With that being said, gay marriage needs to be legalized nationwide and abortion rights need to be upheld.  In the esteemed words of Mr. Garrison from South Park, “Just because you have to tolerate something doesn’t mean you have to approve of it!  ”Tolerate” means you’re just putting up with it! You tolerate a crying child sitting next to you on the airplane or, or you tolerate a bad cold. It can still piss you off!”

It is a fundamental right to choose who you want to marry, or what you do with your own body, and that should not be impeded. You also have the right to oppose abortion and gay marriage for personal, moral, or religious reasons. No one is forcing you to accept anything.  However, these beliefs should not trump someone’s right to have an abortion, or get married to someone of the same gender.  Toleration, rather than acceptance, is the American way.