A major shift in American social order I’ve seen in my life time is the move from the centrality of “tolerance” to the centrality of “acceptance.” While there

A major shift in American social order I’ve seen in my life time is the move from the centrality of “tolerance” to the centrality of “acceptance.” While there are many good reasons for this, it is also a recipe for conflict and distrust. When a person is presented with another person with views or behaviors very different from their own, asking them to simply tolerate the other and not interfere with their life or treat them differently is almost always manageable within a belief system. However, acceptance, not just agreeing to not interfere but embrace many of all aspects of the other is sometimes impossible. A dedicated pro-choice activist who believes reproductive choice is central to women’s rights cannot fully accept a religious believer who is certain abortions are morally reprehensible. A person that believes that traditional American Protestant values are central to the success of the nation cannot accept a textbook claiming that many of those values are flawed and lead to white supremacy without giving up some of their core beliefs.