Talk at University

I had been invited by my friend Wahyuddin to talk at the University where he teaches. Ahmad and Dhindin -- both former participants, are also at the school and I visited it last year at a different campus. The rector, who we met, had lived in Minnesota, spoke English, and vaguely remembered me. I am best remembered vaguely.

Through a miscommunication I had prepared a talk on President Obama's first year but the title turned out to be "Democracy and Tolerance: The American Experience". I worked on my talk off and on in the car and upon arrival it was a little bit more of a panel discussion where the rector, Wahyuddin, Sam, and Julienne all spoke and it was very good. My talk was short and was centered on the strangeness of tolerance. We all want it but the word is a little ambiguous --- you don't "tolerate" your friends. And, in fact, Old English usage is "bearing a hard burden". So the point is tolerance is hard.

I also argued it was a political virture, requiring the hard work of law, education, and respect for institutions. Finally, I suggested that the important question isn't tolerance, but what would you not tolerate -- are the boundary conditions -- the fence and enclosure -- of thoughts on tolerance acceptable and what political conversations and actions are available to increase the size of the fence in a way acceptable to (but not subservient to) the culture at large.