Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society

I have written that when tolerance becomes a one-way street it leads to cultural suicide. Aristotle said two millennia ago, “Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society.”

In Sarasota, Florida there is an organization headed by Dennis McGillicuddy called Embracing our Differences. Their mission is, “Through the transformative power of the Arts, we educate and inspire to create a better world. We envision a world that embraces diversity, respects differences and actively rejects hatred and prejudice.”

Labels such as bigot, racist, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Alt-Right, irredeemables, Xenophobic and deplorables are the weapons used by those who are intolerant of others. They are the same weapons used by the Embracing our Differences supporters to silence dissent. Embracing our Differences is dedicated to teaching children to be intolerant of those who have values, morals and speak truth to power.

Embracing our Differences is political correctness on steroids.

Paul Joseph Goebbels Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany said it is, “[V]itally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Embracing our Differences is dedicated to suppressing the truth and telling the big lie – that we should be intolerant of those who we disagree with.

In the column Florida High School promotes Godlessness in the name of ‘Diversity’ I noted:

Under the Riverview High School IB program is a category titled “Service Organizations.” One of these organizations is the Coexistence Club.

According to EmbracingOurDifferences.org:

The Embracing Our Differences partnership with Riverview High School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) Program continues to be the jewel in our crown.

Under our Docent Program, IB students and members of the Coexistence Club serve as docents and mentors to other students participating in our education program. Our student docents work in the parks daily leading groups and inspiring youngsters to recognize the messages delivered through the art and quotes. With their guided questions and planted seeds of inquiry, our young visitors are led to make realizations of their own about diversity and acceptance of others, including those different from themselves. [Emphasis added]

What are the ” inspiring messages” being planted like seeds into the minds of youngsters at Riverview High School (RHS) and the Sarasota community by the organization Embracing our Differences? Here’s a short list of statements found on an Embracing our Differences banner “Don’t Judge a Book by It’s Cover” at RHS:

• Divorce was the best thing for my son
• I have two mommies.
• I am not the 99% and it makes me feel guilty.
• My brother is now my sister and I still love her.
• People say I am skinny but I hate my body.
• Sober 3 years, two months and 3 days.
• Born this way (with gay flags).
• I Love My Bubber with Star of David (a bubber is a wino or junkie)
• I am not sure who God is or if there even is a God.
• Being Muslim in America is hard.
• Human – everything else is irrelevant.
• Every tattoo has a deep personal meaning.
• My tribe was the original homeland security.
• My piercings make me pretty.

This is a short list of the big lies. Embracing diversity is code for an anything goes mentality when it comes to family, marriage, sexual behavior, tattoos, body piercing, science, politics and God.

As Ronald Reagan said,

“Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience…without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure… If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under… Government should uphold–and not undermine–those institutions which are custodians of the very values upon which civilization is founded: religion, education and, above all, family.”

Perhaps the “jeweled crown” of diversity needs to be replaced with one made from the vines of a thorn bush and placed upon the head of a Nazarene who was crucified by a people who embraced many of the ideals displayed on this banner.

You see, there is one book you can judge by its cover – The Holy Bible – for it is the book of life and living. Its lessons are a must for anyone’s Life Library.

RELATED ARTICLE: Trying to Make Sense Out of the Alt-Right

EDITORS NOTE: Below is the original “Life’s Library” by Andrea Rankin at RHS.

A banner titled “Life’s Library” by Andrea Rankin. The banner hangs prominently on the wall at the entrance of the high school directly across from the Riverview High School’s administrative offices. The banner is in full color and sponsored by the Coexistence Club Riverview High School.

---