This is inspired by another thread and got me thinking. I hope it does not piss anyone off, but then this is just my opinion and I'm entitled to that. I'm not forcing it on anyone else, just expressing it.
So where is the line between what to tolerate and what not to tolerate? There is a definite boundary that when crossed someone must refuse to tolerate a behavior, stand up for themselves or stand up to someone else and say... NO! That is wrong.
I guess that it goes back to the two main things that define a crime, that is force or fraud. Murder, rape, theft, violence and other destructive sins/crimes are forced upon their victims without them having a say in what happens to themselves or their property. Force does not have to be physical but can be mental as well such as brain washing, manipulation, pressure ...etc... Fraud can also be under manipulation or negligent behavior if someone says that they will do something and then do not.
But when the only person that someone is hurting or affected by an action is themselves and no one is forcing or frauding them into that action, but it is their choice, then it makes sense to tolerate that behavior as it is their choice. They are choosing to harm themselves or enjoy themselves in some way that is possibly not conventionally socially acceptable, but at the same time not socially impacting. However the line is crossed if that choice forces or frauds someone else to be involved against their will through manipulation or physical force then it is something that is not to be tolerated. All people should have the right to say NO and have that respected, but some people need to realize that they have the right to say NO to what someone else is doing. Just because the person next to you is eating doughnuts and you are on a diet, doesn't mean you have to eat the doughnut. You choose to eat the doughnut or not and have no one to blame buy yourself.
For instance, if consenting adults of any gender combination want to engage in what might be conventionally considered immoral sexual behavior but all involved have happily agreed to it, then it should be tolerated as it is their choice and does not affect you. However if they try to force someone else to join them or are frauding a spouse who they promised to be exclusive to or grooming a child, then that is intolerable behavior. Or if someone knowingly has a sexually transmitted disease and forces it on their partners without their knowledge. The moment that it impacts society, it becomes society's problem. If it inflicts damage on those who are unconsenting then it is a violation, and violations are not to be tolerated.
However I have found in past experiences that often those who scream for tolerance the loudest are also the ones who can justify violating a group of differing opinion under the banner of those people being intolerant, and that breeds intolerance in the people that they violate as they are being forced upon continuing a cycle of hate. Cause and effect... because they are only concerned with themselves being tolerated but not so much in tolerating others. That double standard is as bad as the double standards and hypocrisy that they protest against, and just as they turned angrily against those they thought were being hypocritical, they turn others angrily against them for the same reason. It would speak better if they would practice tolerance instead of violating it and expecting it in return. If those who would preach tolerance would practice what they preached, it would do more to demonstrate how they want to be treated. If only people would stop being so selfish and start thinking about ourselves and what they do.
Just cause I'm Christian doesn't mean I don't deserve tolerance too. If I pray... I'm not forcing you to. If I tithe ... I'm not forcing you to. If I go to church, I'm not forcing you to... and I don't agree with those who try to force people to give, to bend, to succumb not to a religion but to that person's control. But if I'm stating my beliefs, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm forcing them on you. I'm not a normal Christian, my beliefs are different but solidly based on scripture and not shoddy translations, but my opinions are just as valid. People can do what they want as long as they don't force it on me. Because it's my life that I have control of and I only have a say in the lives that directly affect mine. I will conduct my life and my affairs as I see fit and allow others to do the same, because I understand that God gave us free will, and so I do the same for my fellow man. You have a choice, I have mine. We can debate it, but if you change your mind it's because of your will and not my own. It is not my problem, until you make it my problem. But if you make it my problem, don't act surprised if I respond appropriately when the lines have been crossed.
