Intolerance can make you a better person The Review, Apr. 28, 2000 BY SHAUN GALLAGHER FEATURES EDITOR The way our country is set up, you kind of have to take the bad with the good. That's why when we give the March of Dimes, the Mummers or the NAACP the right to march down public streets or hold peaceful rallies, we also give the Ku Klux Klan that same right. The way our country is set up, if it's not unanimous, it's not the government's place to say how things should be run. That's why the government can't support one religion over another, since there are so many religions in America. That's why the government can't declare English its official language, since there are so many languages in America. The way our country is set up - if you accept what I've said in the paragraphs above - it's a wonder that our government is so pro-tolerance. After all, since we are free to promote tolerance, we are also free to promote intolerance. And since there is not a national concordance among the two, shouldn't the government be impartial? Yet in reality, the government strongly leans to the side of tolerance. If you don't believe me, look at the public service announcements about all sorts of equality. Racial equality, gender equality, age equality, religious equality - the list goes on and on. The government's blatant pro-tolerance stance is even pervasive in our very own university. Resident assistants in on-campus residence halls are instructed to promote tolerance among their residents. They set up educational programs to teach about the benefits of diversity. They try to promote an understanding of foreign cultures. They try to squelch so-called "ignorant" viewpoints. In effect, they try to convince students to think that tolerance is always the best policy. But you would think that the truly tolerant would be the most accepting of intolerance. And besides, there are plenty of benefits to intolerance. For instance, intolerance breeds conviction. If you are tolerant of everyone, and you have that sort of "I'm okay, you're okay" attitude that is so pervasive in today's society, you have, in essence, become a model politician. You're trying to please everyone. You're trying not to step on anyone's toes. And in the process, you have completely failed to take a stand on anything. This moral relativism turns people wishy-washy. If you believe that one man's strong beliefs are just as right as another man's strong beliefs, you have completely negated the point of possessing strong beliefs in the first place. It is only through intolerance that we learn to form strong beliefs and decide what is truly important to us. And even if it weren't - even if intolerance had no upside - it should still not be downplayed in favor of its complement, since it's the government's job to remain neutral. If the government were to stay true to its Bill of Rights roots, it would advocate giving tolerance and intolerance equal airtime. Any other way would be ... well, un-American.