In Defense Of Intolerance

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 146

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Intolerance has a disproportionally bad reputation. It is commonly defined as the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differs from one’s own, and is often equated with bigotry and narrow-mindedness. In some cases, such as that of religious intolerance, the bad reputation is warranted and intolerance must be fought. French philosopher Voltaire provides us such an example with his vigorous defense of religious toleration in the historical Jean Calas case. Jean Calas was a Huguenot (French Protestant) merchant in Toulouse, France in the 1700s. France was then a mostly Roman Catholic country.  Catholicism was the state religion and individuals did not have the legal right to practice different faiths. On October 1761, one of Calas sons, MarcAntonie, was found dead in the family’s shop. It was then rumored that Jean Calas had killed his son because MarcAntonie intended to convert to Catholicism. Anti-Huguenot hysteria broke out among the Roman Catholic populace, and Calas was arrested and charged with having murdered his son to prevent his conversion to Catholicism. At first Calas attributed the crime to an unknown intruder, but later insisted that his son had committed suicide. It seems that, since suicide was then considered a crime against oneself, and the dead bodies of suicides were desecrated, Calas had arranged for his son’s suicide to look like a murder. Despite overwhelming evidence that the death was a suicide, Calas was brutally tortured in an attempt to get him to admit his guilt. He was broken on the wheel, strangled, and then burned to ashes, but he declared his innocence to the very end. Voltaire became interested in the case, and through a vigorous press campaign the philosopher convinced public opinion that anti-Protestant prejudices had influenced the case and that MarcAntonie had, in fact, committed suicide. Ultimately Jean Calas was posthumously exonerated and Voltaire, in his Treatise on Tolerance (1763), used the case to criticize the Catholic Church for its intolerance. But, what about other forms of intolerance such as political intolerance?  We live in a pluralistic democratic society that demands tolerance for political views. And yet, today’s political Left, in university campuses and elsewhere, has shown great political intolerance by demonizing those with a different world view as being evil or stupid. The problem with this intolerance is not only its uncivility, but that it fosters an “intellectual monoculture.” This indolent intolerance is self-contradictory. On the other hand, there is a relativist version of politically correct tolerance that is seriously misguided. This view holds that a tolerant person must be impartial and must take a neutral posture towards all other convictions. This relativist view maintains that no ideas are any better or truer than any other and therefore no judgement must be allowed. This toleration is also irrational. Some ideas are better than others, and there is such a thing as virtuous intolerance.  Our social discourse often claims that intolerance is unacceptable, and argues for the eradication of intolerance. This is nonsense; intolerance can be a force for good.  I am intolerant of the idea that our civil liberties should be restricted on the basis of gender, or race, or religion. I am intolerant of collectivist ideas that constraint our freedoms. I am intolerant of fundamentalist religions that are incompatible with democratic governance. I am intolerant of pedophiles. And I am intolerant of intellectual cowards that hurl insults instead of engaging in intelligent debate.  I guess I am not a very tolerant person. It is not a question of tolerance or intolerance, but of championing truth, sound reasoning, and goodness. Tolerance should not be an end in itself, and intolerance should not always be demonized. Intolerance is necessary to fight falsehoods and subjugation. Oppressed peoples should not be asked to be more tolerant of their governments; they should be encouraged to be visibly intolerant.  Sometimes, as Voltaire, we must fight intolerance. Other times, as Rosa Parks, we must be intolerant, disobey authority, and sit in front of the bus. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) This article was originally published in English in the Miami Herald and in Spanish in El Nuevo Herald.   José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere. He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Formerly, a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary. They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now   Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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