AmericanPapist Comments
One of my profs in Catholic Studies pointed out the obvious (and oft-overlooked) question about the way the word "tolerance" is used these days: Tolerance...of what? Even Grammar can be a helpmeet to Theology: 'tolerate' is a transitive verb, requiring an object. Misuse language and before long, you're distorting ideas and culture.
Re: "thus we also learn how to position all other values because we discover their true significance," I was walking across the beautiful campus of Michigan State yesterday evening. As I passed Morrill Hall (English dept), saw some rosebushes, and remembered that MSU hosts WKAR classical music, it struck me that many people on that campus do not know the true significance of language, beauty, or music; they are largely blind to the context given in the Christian worldview, and so miss what these goods can reveal.
One must always tolerate, nay, be charitable towards PEOPLE, but there's no such automatic need to tolerate their IDEAS. Many on the left would have us accept uncritically whole rafts of crazy, unhealthy, or bizarre ideas on pain of being called haters of people when in reality, love of people often demands a person to reject certain ideas.
Commenting by HaloScan
