Tolerance and acceptance are not the same thing. Tolerance of someone’s belief means that, despite disagreeing with them, you believe that person should not be killed or jailed for their beliefs. You do not wish them ill, in other words. You tolerate them. Acceptance of someone’s beliefs, on the other hand, means that you agree with them. You accept their values or beliefs as true, right, or good. Tolerance and acceptance, therefore, are two completely different things, and the distinction could not be more critical in our day and age.
The Left has been confusing tolerance with acceptance for decades, and what Leftists believe matters, since they have controlled many of our institutions, the mainstream media, and our education system. The idea is that you must accept someone’s behavior or ideology, regardless of what it is, praising them for it and encouraging them in their pursuits of it. If you refuse to do this, then this means you must wish their death and are a hate-filled bigot.
This is a way children are taught from an early age in public schools to accept ideologies and behaviors contrary to the Word of God. Children are repeatedly told to “Be tolerant!” and are taught that this means, “Approve of what other people do!” Since refusing to do so is portrayed as making you a hateful person, children are intimidated and pressured into expressing support for mainstream ideas and values. It’s easy to see how we have reached the point where a contrary viewpoint or belief is seen as wanting people dead. This is how liberals claim that those who oppose trans ideology are committing genocide. The fact that you oppose them in any way is seen as an attack on their very lives. Your opposition is considered hateful and murderous.
Charlie Kirk would frequently debate college students about their beliefs. He never mocked or dismissed people. His focus was on the facts, logic, and reason. He refused to raise his voice, shout people down, or threaten them. Those who opposed him often did not offer the same courtesy. Many clips of Charlie’s debates are currently circulating, so you can view them for yourself. He would debate about education, politics, religion, gender, abortion, and anything at all. If you cared about the topic, he cared about the topic. But that didn’t mean he would agree with you. Charlie would politely and respectfully disagree on topics fundamentally opposed to his moral views, which came directly from the Bible.
One such clip has surfaced recently, where Charlie debated a college student about the difference between male and female. He asked her, “What is a woman?” and the student repeatedly replied, “A woman is someone who says they’re a woman.” Charlie calmly responded, “But what is that? Define the word woman without using the word ‘woman.’” The college student, unable to proceed, fumbled around, resorting to circular reasoning by repeating her assertion that a woman is simply a woman. Kirk continued to press for a different response. Finally, the woman got fed up, saying, “Why are you being so hateful?” It was on camera for all to see, and the audience was there as eyewitnesses. Nothing Charlie said was hateful. His speech wasn’t hateful, his demeanor wasn’t hateful, his words weren’t hateful, but the fact that he made her uncomfortable was what she and countless others consider hateful. The fact that he dared to disagree with her was in itself a vicious action in her eyes.
That is why some on the Left have openly celebrated Charlie’s murder, from news agencies like MSNBC, Washington Post, and The New York Times, to teachers[1] and professors, to popular personalities, airline workers, and healthcare workers. They feel validated because in their eyes, opposition is oppression, disagreement is hatred, and genocide is the consequence of tolerance without acceptance. Therefore, Charlie’s murder was essentially a case of self-defense: his words were viewed as a threat, so Charlie himself was a threat, and his elimination was justified. In this upside-down world, where good is evil and evil is good, we must maintain our courage and prioritize truth above all else, teaching our children that acceptance and tolerance are two distinct concepts, and that we will never condone or align with lies or sin, no matter the impact to our reputations or the accusations made against us because of it.
[1] Additional stories: https://fox11online.com/news/local/laconia-teacher-put-on-administrative-leave-due-to-online-post-about-charlie-kirks-death-president-donald-trump-rosendale-brandon-school-district-superintendent-wayne-weber-social-media-facebook-shooting-assassination
