On both the individual and on a larger scale (national, universal), what are the consequences of a lack of tolerance?

Blind Ignorance:
and history repeats itself
again, and again, and again.

I’m guessing on an individual level,
you will probably not get the most out of life

* I don’t have a great experience on the personal level…

On an individual level, I ran into some racism, and I was also questioned aggresively about why I’m a liberal. Yeah, super conservatives creep me out, but I’ve never acted out on it. When I first read about the Red Scare and Palmer raids, I thought it was some type of parody.

On a larger scale, well geez, look at society. Things are getting better, but is it really optimal or “great”? Not to be arrogant, but I’m pretty sure society would be better if there were more people in it like the ones on fluther.

I don’t understand the almost extreme levels of anti-intellectualism. There’s so wild stuff going on here :/

The lack of tolerance gives us the world we now have. Culturally based wars with the middle east, class warfare at home and a useless Congress. I support a recall vote for the entire congress, impeaching at least three of the right wing operatives that call themselves judges, and Obama for failing to live up to his promises and lack of backbone. This is what happens when you let a law professor actually attempt to work in an elected government.

On a societal level, you end up with camps.

Intolerance often happens in service to some ideal of “purity”. This or that moderate Republican gets the cold shoulder from the national party because their commitment to conservative ideals is suspect. Clamp down on immigration so our language and “cultural values” aren’t diluted. Form a new religious denomination because the others aren’t strict enough with “sinners”. On and on.

At first blush, Purity sounds like such a good thing, doesn’t it? We don’t much like dealing with complication and challenge. We like nice, neat categories. That makes the world seem more comprehensible, because we can now think of it as a collection of abstract categories rather than one big organic amorphous collective.

But ideas and values are improved under conditions of competition and challenge. It’s natural selection at work; just as species become more fit when put under pressure, so do ideas and values. Inbreeding is just as deadly in the realm of ideas and culture as in the ecosystem. In a society where there is a monoculture of thought and values, stasis sets in. Stasis may be comfortable, but we have promises to keep, and miles to go before we sleep.

A good example of a mono-culture is Texas. It is not so much about race although there is a prejudice against anybody not lily white but it is more of a culture. They fervently believe that government is always bad, taxes are terrible, and non-Christians, in the southern sense, belong in their state. Even though they have the Houston Space center and excellent medical facilities in Houston, the rest of the state believes the Federal Government is oppressing them and stealing their money. I expect that if they could secede from the Union without loosing federal money, most of the voters would vote to create the nation of Texas.

Considering previous presidents, Johnson and Bush and their present candidate, I am inclined to support their secession.

Lack of tolerance leads to the creation of countries and borders, laws, wars and persecution. It begins with talking about other people or groups. I haven’t experienced it personally to any appreciable extent.

Totalitarianism and tyrrany.