This is a strange world we live in, indeed. One where minorities (and there is a reason why they are minorities) are dictating to majorities what to do and say. The goal of a minority is not to be tolerated, since it NEVER stops there, but to actually BECOME the majority. A bit like the Borg.
The problem therefore occurs when the majority forgets the real meaning of the word 'tolerance'.
Tolerance is a good thing. But being tolerant of something is NOT the same as accepting or embracing that very same thing. The same way that being open minded is a good thing but isn't the same as accepting everything we're told as true.
For someone to be open minded, that person has to have strong core values and opinions. Otherwise, he is just like a speck of dust, thrown to wherever the wind blows next. When you start accepting *everything* in the name of tolerance and an open mind, or in the name of 'freedom', regardless of the consequences, the only thing you end up with is utter chaos.
What is happening right now in our society is that, in the name of 'freedom', everything is becoming acceptable. Not tolerated, but accepted. There is a big difference between the two.
And wow to the voices of reason who point this out, they are accused of being assholes, chauvinistic pigs, racists, bigots, etc, just as the people who raise their voices against wars are accused of being unpatriotic.
You see, freedom has a terrible price, and that price is responsibility. The more freedom you have, the more responsible you must be.
And what is responsibility? Responsibility is trying to do what is best for you as an individual but also for society at large. If necessary, it's looking at the results of your actions after-the-fact and deciding if they are good or bad. Sometimes we do things with the best of intentions, but the results are bad. We all make mistakes, but the responsible person will recognize a mistake and double track. The non-responsible person will carry on regardless.
And the latter is what we are doing as a society these days. We are allowing our rules and core values to be broken down, one by one, in the name of 'freedom', and we don't care what the results to society as a whole are, provided we, as individuals, are not affected by them (big mistake, because, in the end, we all are). Well, guess what, a society without rules and values is not a society - it's chaos, it's everyone fending for himself.
For a society to be able to sustain itself and be healthy, a balance must be achieved and maintained. This means it must be open to change, no doubt, but must not become overly permissive either. There is a reason we have laws, after all. You can chose to break the law, but there is a price to pay. Break the law and you go to jail. We have a traffic code so people can drive their cars in the safest way possible. Break that code and you get a fine or go to jail.
So, the rules imposed on a society, as long as not overly restrictive, are a good thing. As individuals, we may or may not like them, but they are there for the well being of the whole. What is happening these days is that people think they can make their own rules and then IMPOSE them on the rest of society. And they are succeeding. The minorities dictating to the majority what to think and say, and damn the consequences.
