Tolerance

"Toleration, as it is now widely preached, may be a very one-sided bargain. It will not do to let falsehood and moral idiocy say to truth and honesty, " I will tolerate you if you will tolerate me."
~Coventry Patmore

Tolerance
 
I can tolerate
That you like green
Over purple,
Not that you believe
That 2+2=5.
Such a belief could be deadly.
2-2=1 is even more deadly.
You cannot tolerate untruth;
You must confront it,
Head-on, heads-on.
Ironically,
This means, tolerating the person.
When you cancel a person
Who is wrong about something,
You are cancelling the opportunity
To convert them to the truth.
Even God tolerates Satan.
Perhaps the end of the world will come
When Satan kneels.
When evil repents,
Satan may yet be saved.
It could just all be a happy ending.
Revelation might be wrong.
Perhaps Satan will not be cast to the Fire.
Perhaps he will be forgiven, in the end,
As he sees the light and understands.
Perhaps, all who live in Hell will get another chance.
Wouldn’t that just be lovely?
Do not confuse being tolerant of a person
With being tolerant of their views.
Every single person is an opportunity.
But opportunities can become oppressive.
We must tolerate all people,
Unless they are intolerant of us.
Then tolerance becomes a one-sided bargain.
Then speech is not free.
Then truth and honesty
Must say to falsehood and moral idiocy,
“I will not tolerate you, if you will not tolerate me.”