Tolerance vs Acceptance. Living in the United States, it seems like we hear these two words almost every day. Many advocacy groups tend to use the words interchangeably, not recognizing the extensively different implications of each word. The fact is that these two words carry different connotations and implications. While we are in no way obligated to accept one another, in order to maintain our civilized society, we must be able to tolerate one another.
To tolerate something is to have a fair and objective attitude about someone whose opinions differ from their own. To accept something is to consciously approve of it. The difference is that tolerance is a virtue and a symbol of living in a civilized society. Acceptance implies that we must have uniform beliefs and perspectives in order to maintain society.
If a person feels that an action is morally wrong, then by the virtue of “acceptance”, they would be forced to ignore their conscious and believe that it is morally justified. The implication, then, is that people would be forced the let the general consensus of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable drive their own individual conscious of what is right and wrong.
By the virtue of tolerance, on the other hand, no one is obligated to believe an action is necessarily right or wrong. Rather, they are encouraged to look at issues with an objective attitude and the aim of looking for what ought to be. In the well-known words of Aristotle, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Simply put, you cannot accept something without tolerating it, but you can tolerate something without accepting it.
No one, not even society, should be able to have control over another individual’s conscious. The free exercise of conscious is essential towards preserving one’s moral integrity. It is the innate ability to feel and give weight to the moral emotions. It is the “common sense” at the heart of common sense moral philosophy.
The fact that a general consensus towards an action can drive an individual’s conscious not only signifies a movement towards authoritarianism, but it also signifies movement towards social moral depravity. We need to stop forcing people to be accepting of one another and their actions and start encouraging people to tolerate one another. Whether or not someone is willing to accept something is up to their own conscious. America was built on the notion of freedom of thought and personal liberties. While forced acceptance is a violation of this ideal, tolerance is integral towards preserving it.