What does it mean to be tolerant of others, and when is an individual being bigoted? I reject narrow preferred-minority theories of tolerance, where a group or an idea is protected based solely on the fact that their distinguishing characteristics are in-vogue or are politically correct. Similarly, I reject the historically-disadvantage theory of tolerance that argues that a group must have tolerance now, as they weren't treated fairly in the past. The problem with both of those theories is they select specific groups, and ignore others.

I propose a much more liberal theory on tolerance: all groups and individuals should be tolerated, as long as their actions do not make it impossible for their acceptance in greater society. A group must be tolerated unless their actions cause substantial harm to non-voluntary participants. Substantial harm to non-voluntary participants should be defined as unavoidable physical harm or significant environmental degradation that adversely affects non-group members. Such environmental degradation might include things like aesthetics and noise pollution. Before any group seeks to limit another group, a central question must be asked: is there any way that we can tolerate that group's actions?

If there is a way that such a group can be tolerated, then they should be allowed to exist as they can currently exist. When a group can not be tolerated as they currently exist, then the non-group should work to change the group in a way that preserves the idiosyncrasies of the group and comes to as minimal impact as possible to that group. Persuasion and enticement should always be used if possible, but coercion and physical compulsion is acceptable as a last resort. A truly tolerant individual would subscribe to such principles. In practice, there are few individuals who subscribe to such a liberal doctrine of tolerance. Most people have too many unchanging prejudices that lead them to repudiate and exclude certain groups that they believe are beyond the liberal doctrine of tolerance.

There are groups out there that desire not only to destroy the liberal doctrine of tolerance and do not accept other select groups. How can any doctrine of tolerance accept groups that wish to destroy the tolerance that they were given? How can such a theory support neo-nazis and racists? It would seem that as soon as such groups gained tolerance, they would use it to demean the tolerance of other groups that are currently tolerated.

The neo-Nazis attempt to spread intolerance against Jews through various forms of speech. They talk about the Aryan race as being superior to that of the Jewish race, and suggest that Jews ought not to be trusted. These ideas are political in nature, and while you may find their speech to be offensive, it may actually be correct. I can not claim to know for sure what is the truth. I can only look at the facts as presented to me, and make up my mind based on the facts. The neo-Nazis as a political advocacy group, using speech to argue for intolerance must be tolerated, but actions of intolerance must not be permitted. We should not allow the neo-Nazis to physically harm Jews or other groups, nor should we allow them to cause significant environmental degradation to the Jews or other groups. Any time we deal with neo-Nazis the question should be: is there anyway we can tolerate the group's actions?

I do not like the neo-Nazis for a number of reasons, particularly as they violate my belief in the liberal doctrine of tolerance. There are plenty of groups more deserving of this protection, but once you start deciding the moral virtue of groups; you start leaving groups you dislike out in the cold. Our desire to leave unpopular groups out in the cold historically has proven to be both inhumane and generally wrong. We left African Americans out of our notion of tolerance upon our founding of our nation, and only today is our level of tolerance towards African Americans coming close to the tolerance we give to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. How did we go so wrong, excluding African Americans from all that White society has long enjoyed? We consciously decided that some groups are inheritable inferior and not deserving of the respect of superior groups. By not subscribing to the doctrine that all groups are equal, even though different, we were able to do atrocities against African Americans.

The bible says, "Love the Enemy". Your enemy should be loved and respected, for some day he may be at the top and you at the bottom. Similarly, it's possible that your enemy is right and that you are wrong. New evidence can change everything. There are many people and groups that I dislike, but I always give them the basic respect that they deserve. I would hope that they do the same for me. Politics is best when it is civilized and contains the maximum amount of choices to debate and decide on. A truly tolerant society provides for such an environment.

The dream of a truly tolerant society is far away. Humans all have prejudices, we all have groups we would like to destroy. I try to give basic respect to all groups, and I hope that you do too. As a principle of politics and tolerance, I tend to advocate for the least advocated side of an issue, the side that makes up the real minority. Such advocacy is often tempered my desire to support positions that are consistent with my moral beliefs and what my experience has shown to be the correct decision.

While I have made a conscious decision to only deal with groups in this essay, I believe that my principle of tolerance should apply to not only groups but also individuals. After all, a group is little more then several individuals sharing common characteristics, and as such acting as one. I speak of tolerance for all groups, out of personal experience as an individual, one who has had to deal with the intolerance of other individuals, and one who is also to overcoming his own prejudices and intolerance against other groups individuals.

It's not easy to be tolerant of your enemies, but if you value your individuality and your existence as a member of a group, then you should tolerate their individuality and their existence as a member of a group. Do on to others, as you would do on to yourself. Try to understand why some individuals and groups are different, and push yourself to be as tolerant as possible to these group's differences.