The Illusion of Moral Decline

Quite baffled. What’s wrong with the question?

 

Just so we're on the same page, let's read your question again.

Having now read the first three commandments, would you care to rephrase the question?

 

Sure I can do that. If you became an atheist tomorrow, other than the obv commandments 1-3, which of the other 7 would you cease to honor?

 

Any asshole can come up with commandments. What’s ‘at got to do with morality?

 

The last of the 10 reminds people to not desire what does not belong to them. Uncontrolled desire for another's possession leads to stealing, to wars, to other crimes of illegal or immoral acquisition.

The 10th is a caution, a red light. It's necessary to remind people running, or tempted to run the light risk injury to themselves or others. The lesson of the 10th teaches or advises an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude, to be satisfied with what we do have, to not become mired in self pity that leads to destructive actions.

 

There is no discomfort at all. I was wondering if there is a limit to the tolerance you speak of. Is it truly universal in its scope? Or is it not?

 

This idea that religions can be boiled down to the Golden Rule. It’s like those old sci-fi movies where the aliens land and reveal to us the Mystery of the Universe - “Can we all just get along ?”

 

Peace on Earth towards men of good will

 

Two-thousand years and all its highs and lows.

The patriarchs, the prophets and the martyrs.

Kingdoms falling kingdoms emerging.

Miracles and desert wandering.

Exultations and exile.

Jesus and the Greatest Story Ever Told.

What was it all about ?

Spoiler Alert! Just Be Nice.

 

I guess history class is not very well listened too.

 

You are going to have to define tolerance, in the sense in which you are using the word, for me to answer your question.

In the context of this discussion I asked if someone else thinks differently than you are they wrong?

That is when you said tolerance is the answer, but it seems you have backtracked from that response a little bit. There are some instances where someone who disagrees with you is wrong.

And so the picture that is forming in my mind as we are having this discussion is you are in line at Golden Corral saying, “Eenie, meenie, minie, mo…I tolerate this, but I don’t tolerate that.”

It is cafeteria line ethics that is presenting itself as being tolerant towards everything, but in reality it is a tolerance that is quite selective and biased towards what you find agreeable.

 

Tolerance implies judgment.

 

Thou shall be polite to thine online associates

 

Just for grins, score Donald Trump.

 

You answered it quite clearly. You tolerate what others believe if you agree with, and you don’t tolerate what others believe if you don’t agree with it. I think our conversation reveals it is not the “My morality is the only correct morality” that upsets you, but when Christianity lays claim to that you have problems.

You’ve clearly demonstrated you do the same thing. You move along the ethics cafeteria line and pass over everything you disagree with while tolerating what you agree with. One of us is just a little more honest and transparent about it than the other. FWIW, I think it could be something you are not conscious of. You might think in your mind that you are different, but that is self-deception. And I think you have some self-deception to work through to come to a true understanding of how you actually operate. That was the point on pressing you on some of these harder questions which you consider to be corner cases and exceptions. The corner cases matter.

 

Again, tolerance implies judgement. It literally means “I don’t agree with what you’re doing, but I’ll put up with you.”

 

I am not convinced that is the sense in which he used the word, though. That is why I asked him to supply a definition. A definition would bring clarity.

 

Unfortunately, I can’t see the guy because he’s hiding from me. But yes, the use of the term, by the left, is ironic. They do not envision being put up with. Nothing short of approbation will do.

 

Intolerance obviously implies judgement as well, so perhaps there is no getting away from it. I used the term pluralism above. Not sure if that improves anything.