An Experimental Life

(Although I am writing about the Netherlands here, much of this essay applies to other countries, as well--The United States, for instance.)

"Tolerance" does not mean tolerating bigots, and some of the alleged "victims" of intolerance are among the worst offenders. This is not to say that there are no honest victims--but many seem confused about the meaning of the word, and their hollow claims of unfair discrimination cheapen and belittle the experience of those who live under genuine persecution.

Let's take the controversy over the Netherland's requirement for those immigrating from primarily Muslim countries to watch the film, "To the Netherlands."

Both sides of the controversy agree on the scenes depicted. There is no controversy there. Where they disagree on is whether the film is offensive and represents or promotes intolerance.

It certainly is offensive to and intolerant of one group--Ethnocentric bigots who cannot stand the idea of any group's values other than their own.

The film features demonstrations of liberal Dutch values, including shots of women at a topless beach, and of two men kissing. It also features warnings about traffic jams, unemployment, the possibility of flooding, and snippets of immigrants who describe the Dutch in less than flattering terms.

In other words, the film endeavors to give potential immigrants a fairly accurate picture of Dutch life. Those immigrants are not required to agree with the values presented, but are required to understand and tolerate them.

Critics--Muslim and non-Muslim alike, claim that the film is specifically designed to offend and discourage potential Muslim immigrants, and that forcing potential immigrants to watch and understand it is an act of intolerance.

And here's why the critics are wrong.

Part of the controversy is over the fact that the film is required watching for potential immigrants from primarily Muslim countries, but not from places like the United States, Australia, and Japan. This is seen as unfairly discriminatory.

The Netherlands is known as one of the (if not the) most liberal and socially progressive nations on Earth, and understandably wants only those immigrants who are likewise tolerant of the beliefs and practices of others. It is a reasonable expectation that those from countries in which homosexuality and public nudity are crimes, in some cases punishable by prison, corporal punishment, or death, have a certain probability of reflecting the attitudes of their native cultures.

There are, of course, bigots everywhere (see my essay on the U.S. Religious Right's campaign against equal rights for homosexuals), and so it would be appropriate to show the film to would-be immigrants from any and all countries, since there are radical militant extremist Christians in the United States, too. But hey--the squeakiest wheel gets the grease first, I guess. It seems reasonable to assume that people from cultures with legal, institutionalized discrimination against minority groups are more likely themselves to be intolerant of those same minority groups.

The Netherlands is not perfect in its tolerance, of course, and I make no claims to that effect. Like I said,, there are bigots everywhere. There are people who cannot separate the actions of a minority of radical militant Muslim extremists from the largely decent, responsible, and peaceful followers of Islam a bad name.

Islam is, by and large, a peaceful religion, but these extremists skew public perception when they kill painters for ridiculing the Prophet and physically assault girls riding bicycles, among other things.

If mainstream Muslims want to clean up Islam's reputation in the Netherlands and make the bigots there understand that Islam isn't about violence, they need to be public and vocal in opposing the extremists, just as those who want to salvage the reputation of Christianity in the United States need to publicly oppose hate-mongers like Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, Phred Phelps, and George W. Bush.

And they need to help keep the bigots out, regardless of those bigot's religion, color, or point of origin. The KKK, the U.S.'s Religious Right, and Al Queda all have one thing in common--Using religion to justify bigotry.

You know what? No sane country wants extremists like that, and frankly, those extremists are the people most likely to be offended by the film in question. If that film offends people, and those people decide not to move to the Netherlands, great! That film is only going to offend bigots, and keeping bigots out is a Very Good Thing.

None of the Muslims I have met feel a need to force their religion on others, and most are fairly tolerant even of lifestyles with which they disagree. These Muslims would be allowed to immigrate to the Netherlands providing they meet the other requirements--Because while they may disagree with some of the values illustrated in the film, they recognize those values as legitimate.

Now here's a question--Why in the world would anyone want to move to a country whose way of life and toleration of various lifestyles offends them? This makes no sense. If the film offends you, Dutch culture will offend you.

When moving to a foreign country, it is not unreasonable to be expected to assimilate into the culture of that country. Sure, keep your religion, your language, your food, your lifestyle--But you have to understand and respect the local culture and become a part of it.

In the Netherlands, assimilating into the culture includes learning Dutch and tolerating the beliefs, values, and lifestyles of those with whom you may disagree. The problem is with those people who are so offended by the film, or by the idea of being a part of Dutch culture, that they cannot reasonably be expected to assimilate into Dutch life.

I practice what I preach here--When I was stationed in Germany, I learned German (although I have forgotten most of it over the last twenty years), I respected German customs, and while I kept my identity as an American, I did not try to separate myself from German society or hold up the American way of life as the only legitimate one.

Those who--while they may not agree with all the lifestyles tolerated or embraced in the Netherlands--can at least see these things without being deeply offended, are welcome. In other words, if you cannot see a film of topless women or two men kissing without being outraged and offended, you have no business moving to the Netherlands, since you will very likely see these things in real life at some point. Would those same potential immigrants want people who were intolerant of Islam moving to their home countries?

The right to live as you see fit (within the bounds of social responsibility) does not include the "right" to expect that others will live their lives in ways that will not offend you. I am offended by many of mainstream Christianity's values, but as long as long as they don't try to force purely religious values on the rest of us, I believe they have a right to hold those values. The key phrase here is, "as long as they don't try to force purely religious values on the rest of us." When they attempt to force those values on the rest of us (as they are in the U.S.), they have overstepped their rights, just as any other group would be overstepping their rights to ban any religion unless that religion held as a tenet that they must force others to follow their beliefs.

It is hypocritical to expect others to tolerate your belief system when that belief system requires that you punish non-beievers for not adhering to it, or to not respect their right to live as they will, as long it causes no harm to you.

To sum up, as I say in the title, tolerance is a two-way street. If you want your lifestyle to be tolerated, you must tolerate the lifestyles of others. If Sharia offends you, don't move to an Islamic theocracy. If you are offended by the liberal culture of the Netherlands, don't move there. You don't have to agree with the values of others, but if you want your own values respected, you must respect the rights of others to their values, as well.

A few references:

• Holland launches the immigrant quiz The Sunday Times, March 12, 2006
• Dutch immigration test 'anti-Muslim' Al Jazeera, Wednesday, March 22, 2006
• Dutch immigration kit offers a revealing view Herald Tribune, March 17, 2006