Column exhibited a profound misunderstanding of liberalism | Letter

I have rarely read such a well-written, elegant essay that is so fundamentally flawed as Mr. Charles Todorich’s op-ed in the July 12 Maine Sunday Telegram (“Non-judgmental tolerance, vaunted by liberals, is not a virtue”). It’s as if the author has read all of Western philosophy (and then some), but ignored John Stuart Mill’s writings.

Liberals (and liberalism) never preached tolerance without judgment, but have always sought to distinguish how our words and actions affect both the actor and those objects of our words and actions. Distinctions are made constantly, endlessly by liberals. Ever cognizant of the First Amendment and other foundational concepts in a constitutional republic, liberals seek to weigh both freedoms of the actor and those affected thereby. No liberal that I know of favors or tolerates murder, or other actions that may lead to immediate harm.

Liberals probably would approve of Iranians sending toys to American relatives or friends, but not sending bombs. Liberals would probably support (tolerate) your newspaper’s right to publish Mr. Todorich’s remarks, but vigorously contest their cogency.

David S. Turesky, Esq.
Portland

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Tagged: letter to the editor