The Dream of a Tolerant Society
We have seen a plethora of advancements within society including, equal rights, LGBTQ acceptance, as well as discrimination, but we still find that promoting tolerance is difficult. With that being said, our society is still very far from perfect and we still see societies plagued by discrimination, racism, and inequality. Within the First Amendment it reads, "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech" and sometimes people lose sight of that, looking down upon others for their opposing opinion and not starting that conversation with the other side. The theory written by Lee Bollinger, presents the idea that we look past the First Amendment to hate and criticize others which leaves us at a divide within society.
With the rise of technology such as smartphones in which social media applications are popular, it is easier than ever to share your opinion and engage with social media users around the world. Although this is important for the world we live in today, this causes many issues within society as people are more willing to speak up, specifically disagree with others, while they hide behind a screen. This once again causes a divide within society as those with similar opinions form groups to build a force against others. A prime example of this occurred within the 2020 Presidential Election, with technology taking a large role, again making it easy to see others political views which most likely did not match up with everyone who engaged with the media. This form of social intolerance was seen within my college sorority, in which a group of 200 girls were becoming vocal about disagreeing with other sisters. Although opposing opinions can lead to beneficial conversations, this was not the case for many of my sisters and as a member of our Executive Council, I got the backlash of dealing with this "social intolerance".
David A. Strauss uses the example of Miranda Rights when discussing the theory of Promoting Tolerance by Bollinger, stating, "Miranda warnings are an example: part of their value lies in the fact that reciting them, an interrogating officer performs a rite of self-abnegation, a ritual acknowledgement that he or she does not have total power over the suspect (Strauss, Why Be Tolerant?)". This is the government's form of social tolerance when they are making an arrest for unlawful purposes, as they are emphasizing the idea that even though you have broken the law, your First Amendment still applies.
We as a society need to take a step back and realize that a majority of your opinions that are formed these days with topics such as politics, are made with biased information. Listening to those with opposing views doesn't believe you feel what they are saying is right but it helps you better form your opinion and can improve your intelligence on the topic.
Comments
Post a Comment