On Tolerance

Last night I was at a gathering of twenty or so people. I was chatting amicably with a fellow, his wife and another couple. The subject of conversation centered on the work experiences of one of the men, a painter for the State of Wisconsin. After a while, the painter asked what I do for fun. I hesitated, then answered honestly, "I like to blog." He asked for the name of my blog. I hesitated again, having been through this before. I said something to the effect that he may find some of my views objectionable. But he persisted, asking why etc... until I had to explain my views on unions. My view, in brief, is that unions can be helpful for members but that they are often harmful to society at large. Though I delivered this viewpoint reluctantly, gently, and at his insistence, it soon became clear that he not only didn't like my opinion, but that he didn't like me. Like I said, I have been through this before. Oh well.

In recent years, I have gained greater clarity of my political views. I am comfortable holding them, discussing them, and defending them if neccessary. One of the consequences of this increased confidence is that a small minority of liberals will reject me personally because of the viewpoints that I hold. In other words, I am not only wrong, mistaken, naive etc..., but bad. Again, oh well.

Interestingly, when I was moderately left of center, I did not encounter a comparable rejection from conservatives.

My conclusion: conservatives are more tolerant than liberals, generally speaking.