Tolerance makes for false god

  Ben Shapiro Shapiro is a first-year
philosophy student bringing reason to the masses. E-mail him at
[email protected].
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Forget God. Forget Allah. Forget Jesus. Forget right and wrong.
Forget good and bad. Because now everything is acceptable. And if
you don’t agree, you’re stupid.

American liberalism has replaced a system of morals and values
with a new god. His name is Tolerance. Tolerance is an easy-going
guy. He’ll accept just about anything you choose to do. You
want to commit adultery? OK by Tolerance. Pedophilia? A little
sicker, but it’s all right too. Murder? Well, you must have
had a tough childhood.

But Tolerance is a jealous god. He won’t stand for anyone
saying that an action is wrong or immoral. And He won’t
tolerate any judgments made on value grounds. Who are you to
judge?

Tolerance has only one commandment: thou shalt not worship other
gods, especially the one and only God. Worshipping that God causes
people to think in terms of right and wrong. And Tolerance has no
tolerance for that.

The overwhelmingly liberal American media portrays anyone who
believes in God as foolish at best, and usually goes as far as to
call them closed-minded and extremist. Why? Because intolerance of
anything, even of corrupt morals, is a clear violation of the law
of Tolerance, which states that you cannot judge anyone.

  Illustration by RACHEL REILICH/Daily Bruin The clearest
indication of the liberal intolerance for those who espouse
religious values can be found in comparison of those in the
congregation of Tolerance and those in the congregation of God.

For the congregation of Tolerance ““ the Rev. Jesse
Jackson. A holy man, a man who should belong in the congregation of
God, were it not for his values or actions. Holy to such a degree
that when he has a love child by a woman half his age, he cannot be
judged. And any who dare to say that his actions were despicable is
intolerant. Note the media coverage on the front pages for a day at
the most, and even then most of the articles about Jackson were
only to praise his candor in admitting his fault. Never mind that
Jackson is the same man who counseled President Clinton and gave
him “moral support” during the Lewinsky scandal. Never
mind that Jackson is looked up to as a “moral model.”
How could anyone have the gall to say that his actions were
wrong?

For the congregation of God ““ Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
Before you cringe, remember what she represents ““ a system of
God-given morals. Remember when she called the homosexual lifestyle
“deviant”? She was berated with a media hailstorm.
Every major newspaper carried ads proclaiming Dr. Laura intolerant.
Radio and television stations throughout the country discussed her
“bigoted” views. She was eventually forced to recant on
pain of the loss of her livelihood. Never mind that Schlessinger
watered down the Biblical view of homosexuality: “It is an
abomination.”(Leviticus 18:22) Never mind that many major
religions condemn homosexuality. How could Schlessinger be so
horrible? How could the religious right judge?

For the congregation of Tolerance ““ Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
When Lieberman was first chosen by then-Vice President Al Gore as
his running mate for the 2000 Presidential election, he
consistently thanked God for this wonderful opportunity. But at the
same time he compromised his religion and values for the sake of
Tolerance. Soon after his nomination, he stated that he would be
willing to meet with Louis Farrakhan, an avowed anti-Semite who has
repeatedly slurred Jews in the past. Yet to get the black vote,
Lieberman was willing to ignore all this and refuse to judge him.
Once again, Tolerance took priority over God.

For the congregation of God ““ Attorney General John
Ashcroft. Ashcroft was proclaimed a sexist and a racist for his
views on abortion and affirmative action, despite the fact that
Ashcroft’s Christianity dictated his views on the issues.

In order to cover up their own intolerance of Ashcroft’s
religious background, the liberal media accused Ashcroft of being
unable to put his personal views aside in order to enforce the law.
Never mind that Ashcroft’s record shows him to be tolerant
and effective. As long as his own personal views do not tolerate
certain actions, he must be put out of sight.

For the congregation of Tolerance ““ former President
Clinton. The man lied under oath, lied to the American people, and
then bombed Sudan to distract the country from the burgeoning
Monica-gate. He took campaign money from the People’s
Republic of China, then stated that he was never told about it by
the FBI, which the FBI later revealed to be another lie. He rented
out the Lincoln Bedroom to the highest bidder, let people pay to
ride on Air Force One, and even as he was leaving the White House
took gifts meant for the White House totaling $28,000 (“Rich
Pardon Just More of the Same,” Mona Charen, Daily News, Feb.
8).

But Clinton is a victim, a victim of Republican partisanship,
not of his own faults. How dare the Republicans challenge
Clinton’s integrity. How dare they say good old Bill was a
sleazy politician. It is the Republicans who must be chastened for
their behavior and their intolerance of Clinton’s
misdoings.

For the congregation of God ““ President Bush. In promoting
his conservative agenda, Bush has been attacked with cries of
“divider.” How could he do such a thing as to promote a
Christian Fundamentalist, John Ashcroft, to Attorney General
despite the media’s opinion that he must
“unite”?

How could Bush fail to abandon his own Presidential agenda?
Never mind that Democrats were swearing even before the
Inauguration to fight Bush’s policies until their last
breath. Never mind that many were proclaiming Bush an illegitimate
president. Bush’s views must be moved to coincide with those
of the liberals. If they do not, it is he who is intolerant!

Tolerance is obviously something to strive for. The problem lies
in that in the search to prioritize tolerance, intolerance of
religious morals is promoted. Not everyone has to accept religious
values, but those who do accept them should not be considered
stupid, foolish or intolerant.

True bigotry lies in American liberalism’s intolerance of
those who hold opposing viewpoints. It is about time that liberals
expanded their minds enough to realize that it is OK for people to
have differing opinions. It is time for those who espouse Tolerance
above all else to start practicing what they preach.