Tolerance and the lack thereof

Tolerance.

The catch word for "anything and everything goes." The excuse used for offending others. If I publish something on this blog that is obscene, crude, rude and repulsive and you mention it, then I can screech "freedom of speech" and "you're intolerant."

What a slap in the face the word "intolerant" is.

Well, maybe.

If I am tolerant of you and your beliefs, then, do I publish things on this blog that are obscene, crude, rude and repulsive? In other words: Is Tolerance a Two Way Street?

If you live in this society, do you use freedom of speech responsibly? Do you screech obscenities about a certain religion and then hide behind your interpretation of the Bill of Rights when someone confronts you for your obscenities? Do you call the other person "intolerant" because they are offended by the volatile words you use and the disrespectful comparisons you make?

We bloggers have a right to question, to confront, to expose. We also have a responsibility to do so in a respectable manner.

I could use expletives when discussing the fallacies in Muhammadanism. I would probably lose readers. Do I tell the truth? Yes. Do I use logic and reason? Yes. So what would using profanity prove? How would it help my argument?

My mother always told me that people who use profanity have small vocabularies.

Maybe the two "Edwards Bloggers" are just "vocabulary challenged." And maybe their understanding of tolerance is entirely one-sided and hasn't matured into a complete understanding of the respect and responsibility which goes hand in hand with tolerance.