As reasonable people know, “tolerance” doesn’t mean acceptance. For example, I tolerate — or “put up with” — the fact that people are free to do whatever legal thing they wish to do, but I don’t accept whatever they choose to do. I tolerate differences, but that doesn’t mean I consider all differences good or worthy of appreciation.
In our relative-rubbish society, the definition of tolerance has shifted. It now means acceptance of any and all behaviors and lifestyles. Ironically, the new meaning of tolerance doesn’t extend to Christians or conservatives. Graphic novelist and artist Doug TenNapel, writing for new conservative site Big Hollywood, says it better than I do:
“I once had a meeting with an executive regarding one of my graphic novels that had been optioned. This exec started the writer’s meeting with a few notes to change some rough spots in the story. This is normal procedure with my work. I have no problem with making these changes, since it’s part of the game given where I’m at in my career. They pay me lots of money so I like these execs when I’m sentenced to work with them. I was taken aback by the first round of notes that went something like this, ‘For starters, we’re gonna get rid of all this Christian shit from the story, right?’
“The exec informed me that religious imagery didn’t sell to American audiences, that it was intolerant and it definitely didn’t export. This was before ‘The Passion of the Christ’ so I can forgive his ignorance of the world’s most popular religion, but it was the word intolerant that struck me. How was the inclusion of religion not tolerant while the removal of it was?
“This is my baptism into the myopic view of religion by most of my friends in Hollywood. For being multicultural, the lack of humility regarding a religion they didn’t know or understand is…is…well, these days it’s typical.”
Now that I’m living so close to Hollywood, I plan to write more about Christians in the industry and how they’re treated. Since I briefly mentioned Christian entertainment in Hollywood, readers have sent lots of links to valuable resources: groups for Christ-following screenwriters, producers, actors in Hollywood…a whole world I never knew existed.
