On Demanding Tolerance

"Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions."
Gilbert K. Chesterton

And to be "without convictions" is to surrender to the Orwellian existence as depicted in "1984."  Slack jawed.  No opinions, no convictions. To exist without convictions is to surrender to all.   Turn in your permit to be a thinking human being.

Chesterton suggests that people should have convictions.  He is correct. Pure tolerance would be to have no opinion, no conviction.  The Orwellian society in "1984"  demanded its members to be so. Those who sheltered convictions were forced to mask them.  Yet those in power were severely  "intolerant." Is that where we are headed?

But Liberals have convictions do they not? I maintain that those demanding tolerance are actually saying  "don't have convictions that conflict with mine." Hence, tolerance or the state of being tolerant, really has little to do with discussion or being open minded.  When a liberal asks you to be tolerant,  he is commanding you to quit holding your conviction, likely the one that is countervailing to his own precious conviction.

Yet, if we are dealing with those who refer to themselves as " liberals", mustn't they own up to the attributes of the moniker "liberal"?  Can a Liberal, or someone who calls himself such, demand tolerance? A liberal, by most definitions, suggests open mindedness. A person "favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms" (Oxford Dictionary). The word "respectful" is the key word. It seems  these liberals are not respectful of the opinions, or as Chesterton mentions, the "convictions" of others.

Today, liberals seem to demand.  They do not respect or allow for other reasonable stances. There are mandates. You must buy health insurance.  Where is the respect for "individual rights and freedoms" here?
There are decrees.  "Take your business elsewhere. Your values are not of our city."

It is great sport to make these points to those who call themselves liberals and demand tolerance.  Use this  phrase to "Freeze" the liberal mind:

"Please be more tolerant of my intolerance."

A cul de sac of reasoning for those requiring tolerance of others.  Zero divided by zero.  Computer lock up.  For, to demand tolerance is indeed to be intolerant.  When a liberal tells you to be tolerant, it is a double edged event. He is asking you to surrender your conviction, as he maintains his.

And, he is not being a "liberal" at all.