Tolerance or Has 1984 Finally Arrived?

In light of the recent uproar regarding the blog of my friend, Sue Ann Jaffarian, (Go to sueannjaffarian.blogspot.com, if you are curious.) it concerns me that a lot of people in this world are blatant hypocrites regarding freedom of expression. One minute they chastize anyone who threatens to "thought police" words and ideas; the next, they attack anyone who dares to contradict, disagree, or pose new thoughts.

What's wrong with tolerance? Why can't we get along and accept the individuality of everyone? It comes down to this: many of us are afraid. We live in an environment of fear. The government, the media, and our peers contribute to this. If we don't understand something, or if it frightens us, we dismiss it or ridicule it. Most of us are not as intellectually open as we proclaim. For a change, we should own up to this fact.

Before we mock someone or something, we should ask ourselves one simple question: why? If we questioned ourselves more, then perhaps we wouldn't be physically or emotionally looking over our shoulders all the time.