Developing Political Tolerance. This essay is an ERIC Digest from 2002. It looks at how students can be taught to tolerate and accept political views that differ from their own.
As the article says, "Political tolerance is the willingness to extend basic rights and civil liberties to persons and groups whose viewpoints differ from one's own. It is a central tenet of a liberal democracy."
This article makes strong connections to American history. The text notes, "The protection of individuals' rights, including those of individuals we dislike or with whom we strongly disagree, has often been a struggle in U.S. society. Consider the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the interrogation of suspected American Communists in the 1950s, or the FBI files on Vietnam War protesters. In each case, Americans tended to support the abnegation of rights for unpopular minorities."
Political tolerance is a good thing most of the time. But is it always the best? If you believed slavery was wrong in the 19th Century, would have being an abolitionist been evidence of political intolerance for the views of southerners? Would being opposed to abortion in the 21st Century be seen as political intolerance today?
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