Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/79630
6A Daily News– Wednesday, August 22, 2012 Opinion The intolerant 'new tolerance' DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 history, both candidates on a major ticket in presidential poli- tics aren't Protestants. And for that matter, religiously speaking, none of the four candidates lead- ing the Democratic and Republi- can tickets will be WASPs either — from a white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant background. We've come a long way from 1776 when North Carolina's Constitution, to take one exam- ple, provided "(t)hat no person, who shall deny the being of God or the truth of the Protestant reli- gion … shall be capable of hold- ing any office … within this State." Over time, religious tests at the state level were eliminated in line with Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. Today, Americans seem to consider specific religious affili- ation less and less in elective pol- itics. But we also see signs of an intolerant "new tolerance" toward the ways in which fellow citizens walk out their faith. In a tolerant, diverse public square, it's easy enough to buy a car from a Muslim, a house from a Catholic, a television from a Mormon or a chicken sandwich from a Southern Baptist. The merchant's religious views usu- ally aren't a consideration for customers — or for government. If the merchant chooses to sell at a price the customer is willing to pay, both are better off for the transaction. No theologi- cal examination is necessary. This cultural norm is a good thing and promotes harmony in a For the first time in American pluralistic society. Merchants and customers are free to engage in market transactions on their terms. Neither side is forced to agree with the other's theologi- cal perspective to participate. Both have to be willing, however — neither can be forced. Business owners differ from one another not only in service and price but also how they oper- ate based on their religious beliefs (or lack of same). So Chick-fil-A is famously closed on Sundays, a Jewish- or Mus- lim-owned deli may not offer a BLT, and a Calvinist painter may not depict Jesus Christ. This form of tolerance works pretty well. The merchant or vendor doesn't have to violate his conscience. Most likely, the customer can find waffle fries, a BLT or a painting somewhere else. True tolerance shrugs a shoul- der and maybe engages in a civil conversation seeking under- standing when encountering a religious reason for not provid- ing a good or service. Today, though, we see instances of a disturbing "toler- ance" that is hostile and intoler- ant toward religious differences. States sometimes exhibit the same type of intolerance that states wrote into law early in America's founding period. Two examples: In New Mexico, a Christian photographer was ordered to pay more than $6,000 by the state's Human Rights Commission because, based on her religious convictions, she didn't want to take pictures of a same-sex com- mitment ceremony. In Illinois, before a court inter- vened, pharmacists were required to dis- pense the "morning- after pill" even if they had a moral or religious objection. vendors with different religious beliefs would have been glad for the business. Worse is yet to come. As of Aug. 1, Obamacare now man- dates that employers and insur- ance plans — with narrow, whol- ly inadequate exemptions — must provide employees with "free" coverage for abortion- inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization no matter their religious beliefs. Astonishingly, the Obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services essentially makes the argument that a pri- vate business owner loses his religious liberty once he enters the marketplace. So why is government forcing men and women to violate their conscience just because they happen to be in the marketplace? It smacks of state-enforced puri- ty: Agree with us or you're intol- erant. In both cases, other The trend turns religious lib- erty and tolerance on their heads. In the classical formulation, indi- viduals participate in an open market; government isn't allowed to play favorites among sects. In this new scheme, gov- Guest View Derrick Morgan guard Aug. 15 inside the Wash- ington headquarters of the Fami- ly Research Council may have been intolerant of that faith- based policy organization's tra- ditional view of marriage. It's good that Americans seem to be less inclined to reli- gious bigotry against particular sects. But we're in danger of trading real tolerance for the idea that we can't operate businesses or organizations according to our conscience — and that religious views are invalid or hateful. Moving in that direction will trample liberty and increase strife. Ultimately, it will produce a less civil society. ernment forces a photographer or pharmacist to violate her con- science — apparently so as to not offend or incon- venience customers. This doesn't pro- mote a healthy public square or promote true tolerance. Sadly, an FBI affidavit indi- cates that the man who shot a security Derrick Morgan is vice president for domestic and economic policy at The Heritage Foundation. Readers may write to the author in care of The Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20002; Web site: www.heritage.org. Information about Heritage's funding may be found at h http://www.heritage.org/about/r eports.cfm. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Genetically engineered children Commentary take but 20 minutes for us to custom-design your fetus." "You want to custom-design our child, doctor?" "Sit down over here. It won't University of Washington researchers made a massive biotechnology breakthrough! Few people talked about it at the time." "In the summer of 2012, tor?" "What breakthrough, doc- "It involved using a blood sample from a pregnant woman and a saliva specimen from the father to map the DNA of their fetus. It took some time for the procedure to become practical and affordable, but the ability to know a child's complete DNA blueprint eventually gave par- ents a lot of choices." "Choices, doctor?" dren, and that's just for starters." "Why would parents want to decide all of these things?" "No offense, but you and your wife are a bit chubby. For a price, I can take the fat gene out of your kid's genetic mix and he or she will grow up to be as skinny as a rail." "The Christian Science Mon- itor reported that the procedure could allow parents to 'someday prenatally change genes seen as causing diseases or, more star- tling, pick a child's attributes such as eye color or even intel- ligence.'" "We can now pick our child's intelligence?" "Why not? We help parents determine the height, weight, eye color and IQ of their chil- "But being chubby isn't the end of the world. Winston Churchill was chubby. Orson Welles was. Our parents were. These people did well in life." "If you say so. But we'll have to do something about your noses. You and your wife have some big honkers. We have a range of celebrity noses you can choose from in our catalog. It will save you a fortune!" "How will custom-designing our child's nose save money?" "We charge a lot less to fix the nose at the gene stage than a plastic surgeon will charge after the baby is grown. Of course, we can avoid your and your wife's obvious imperfections by shopping for a better embryo." "Use someone else's genes to make our baby?" "It's all the rage! We have a catalog of good-looking Ivy League students who donate their eggs and other genetic specimens for money. We mix and match these parts to create embryos, which we then implant into any mother who can afford our fee." "Don't you feel that you are trifling with nature, doctor?" "We're simply pick- ing up where nature left off. We're simply refining the baby- making process." "Perhaps there may be value in correcting medical issues in our child before he or she is born, but this is all so new. We really want to think it through." have kids the old way, all kinds of things can go wrong. Some couples might have a child that has Down syndrome. We pre- vent such errors from occurring in the lab." "Look, when people try to Down syndrome child will tell you that such children are cheerful, loving and blessings from God." "Whatever. We also elimi- nate all other imperfections, such as blindness and deaf- ness." "But, doctor, any parent of a "But Helen Keller was blind and deaf and she did remarkable things. Look, doctor, advances in science are a good thing, but my wife and I really want to think this through. Do we really want the power to manipulate the genetic makeup of our children?" "Hey, most parents Tom Purcell as beautiful as a supermodel, won't beauty lose some of its meaning, doctor? If parents can custom-create the life of their child, won't life itself lose some of its meaning?" "Meaning? What's all this silly talk about meaning?" ——— want intelligent chil- dren who are as attractive as a super- model. What is wrong with that?" "But if everyone is Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e- mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com.