February 27, 2013

Thought for 2.27.13

Minority views should be respected whether they are the wave of the future or the deposit of the past.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG

2 comments:

Erika Baker said...

Unless they are positively harmful.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG said...

A good reminder, Erika. I would not say, however, that respect = approval; and if positive and direct harm can be demonstrated, then it is time for a more substantial change. Often truly harmful or hurtful ideologies die out on their own, though sometimes they are nourished like a viper in the bosom of the body politic, and a more decisive action is needed. I think the history of the end of slavery in the US is a helpful illustration: the move from ending the slave trade, to gradual manumission, to emancipation and abolition was a painful course for some -- though there were strong abolitionists from the very beginning, and diehard slavery supporters at the end.