There is a subtle but crucial distinction between treating all people and their communities with equal respect and viewing all cultures as essentially equal. The test of tolerance is not so much 'accepting' and 'validating' all cultures different from one's own, but rather living at peace with those with whom one disagrees most vehemently, cooperating with those whose claims we may detest, and defending the rights of those whom we regard as fundamentally wrong.

There is a subtle but crucial distinction between treating all people and their communities with equal respect and viewing all cultures as essentially equal. The test of tolerance is not so much 'accepting' and 'validating' all cultures different from one's own, but rather living at peace with those with whom one disagrees most vehemently, cooperating with those whose claims we may detest, and defending the rights of those whom we regard as fundamentally wrong.

Abortion and the failure of Democracy