As a bleeding heart liberal it should go without saying that I disdain any behavior that would oppress the beliefs or the opinions of anyone else, even if I don't agree. I think our first step toward bigotry is the ignorance and intolerance of any belief system that we immediately shun as "less than" what we already believe, or, in many cases, not believe.
Crazy as it sounds, though, even in what you'd consider the safe, warm waters of liberalism - which by its very definition should WELCOME all beliefs and opinions - I have faced much intolerance for my own Christian beliefs.
In fact, being a Christian Liberal I often face opposition and suppression from both sides. The religious right wants to denounce my faith as worthless (i.e. Ann Coulter) and the anti-religious left wants to paint me as a superstitious moron.
Meanwhile I spend most of my time trying to wrestle Jesus from the clutches of the hypocrites in my own Christian camp to point out how he personified all the moral standards on the left.
In other words, I turn over tables in the temple and hang out with "sinners," and not so surprisingly I make enemies on the right. This doesn't surprise me nearly as much as the flak I get from the left - especially when I'm a pro-faith, anti-religious Christian who doesn't preach conversion.
I help moderate the Ustream chatroom for Hal Sparks during his weekly radio appearances. Both of these shows, the Stephanie Miller Show on Wednesdays and his own radio show on Saturday, are political in nature and unabashedly left-leaning. Needless to say the crowd they draw are what you would consider liberal.
Many of whom are not Christian, which is fine, but want to turn the chat room into a stand-up comedy routine against anything at all Jesus related - which is not fine. I usually bite my lip and allow it - although it skates on very thin ice on our "no disrespect" rule. On Christmas Eve, however, I put my foot down. Just as I wouldn't allow these same people to make fun of Jewish or Muslim religions on their high holy days, I wasn't about to allow people to mock Jesus on Christmas Eve. To me, this was not just skating on the thin ice of disrespect, it was a virtual slap in the face to people who hold these beliefs but never say anything for fear of being mocked by a mob.
Unfortunately in the liberal sphere, this is a very real possibility. (Thank you ever so much, Bill Maher.)
"Well, Ginger, you're just trying to censor me."
Just because you *can* say something doesn't mean you should. If what you say doesn't benefit the conversation AND makes someone else feel bad... then maybe you should keep your mouth shut.
I, as a believer, am especially sensitive to the hateful intolerance exhibited that basically said, "You're an idiot because you don't believe what I do." This is the same thing that makes me sensitive to those from other religions who get persecuted from those guys on the other side of the political aisle.
It's no more acceptable when we do it than when they do it.
IN FACT.. it's really no different than those religious people who want to browbeat people with a Bible to tell them they are going to hell if they don't change their ways. Each believes that they are right, and the feelings of people get tread underfoot of this egomaniacal need to be righter than the other guy.
It's intolerance on both sides and it's turned a simple idea - religious freedom - into a battleground. Instead of allowing this to be a personal matter, we've turned it into free-for-all that says we can degrade anyone who doesn't share our own personal beliefs, especially if we don't subscribe to any. We preach against intolerance for those who would dare protest a mosque, but then want to silence anyone who has a religious thought under snide "jokes" that essentially seek to do the same thing: silence that which we do not believe so we don't ever have to hear it.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Freedom OF religion is not the same as freedom FROM religion.
We are an all-inclusive society that allows this to be decided by the individual, and that should be protected. This starts with a simple respect that these beliefs are deeply personal and are not fair-game for a joke.
Anymore than being any other religion, sexual orientation, gender or even political affiliation.
I am a tolerant Christian. I know it seems like an oxymoron, but it's not. Jesus was an all-inclusive, tolerant chap who got into lots of trouble with the religious leaders of his generation because he would dare to hang out with hookers and tax collectors. He didn't give a fig what they had to say about it, he was living the example of love that literally wrote the book on how we Christians should treat EVERYONE, not just those who believe like we do.
I realize that a ton of yahoos who subscribe to ChristianityTM have run his name through the muck, much more than the likes of intolerant asses like Bill Maher could ever hope to do, BUT.... trust me when I say this there are many people who subscribe to the faith who take this call to love and embrace the world very seriously.
The only intolerance we have is of intolerance itself - in *all* of its forms.
No matter what god (or not) you choose to worship, I will not make fun of something that is sacred to you, even if I do not share your same views. I'm going to be empathetic that your beliefs (or lack thereof) are just as important to you as mine are to me, and show you that simple courtesy.
And until we can all do that, kids, we can't lift our noses in the air with some kind of self-imposed superiority that we're more ethical and moral than "the other guys." We're no better just because our "intolerance" happens to be the "politically correct" one.
It's still intolerance. And it's still ignorant. And it's hateful.
And it's got to stop.
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