> I am told much about western democracy and tolerance. Am I missinformed ?
 
Yes and no. That is, you probably misinterpreted what you were told.
 
One of the things that might be difficult to understand about
democracy (unless you're born into it) is that it permits extremes.
Thus, not only is there tolerance, but tolerance for intolerance.
Since it's the intolerant who become more obvious than the tolerant,
it becomes almost paradoxical in that a tolerant society might seem
intolerant (since it's the intolerant who are apparent), while an
intolerant society might seem tolerant (since everyone thinks the
same way, there is little to be intolerant of).
 
If this is going to become a thread on tolerance and democracy, let's
consider taking it to private email. Note that you can still list
interested parties on the cc line of your mail program.
 
Conrad Sigona
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