The World of Grandpa Don

ZERO Tolerance

We here that a lot lately. We here it in regard to behavior at school, the drug problem, and now in regard to pedophilia by priests. To be sure, these problems and many others are not to be tolerated!

When I here people advocating ZERO tolerance, I think of the old west. "Sheriff, give him a fair trial and HANG him!" Too often, that is what it amounts to. We have a problem that has become so big that we don't know what to do about it. We decide to make a rule that defines a punishment for a particular offence and abide by it no matter what. That is great. Now we don't need to think about it, just follow the rule.

It reminds me of a Lieutenant who told me that he had only made one major decision in his entire life, and that was to become an officer in the US Navy. He said he made that decision so he would never have to make another decision. All the decisions were in the book. Just follow the book and you could never make a mistake!

Scary, isn't it? He was my division officer and would lead us in conflict.

I tend to equate ZERO tolerance with intolerance. Isn't it the same? And, isn't that a BAD thing? 

I will repeat, We can not tolerate these things. But we also can not blindly apply penalties without regard to good judgment. Whatever is the offence, it should be dealt with. The first rule should be to NEVER   hide a problem. If a criminal act is discovered, it must be revealed to the civil authorities. If found guilty, punishment should be prescribed according to law. In any case, all steps should be taken to deter and prevent a recurrence of the offence. 

Those in authority can not be allowed to hide the offence to prevent loss of faith in the organization, whether it be a government body, business or a church.

Those in authority can not be allowed to hide the offence to protect their own, whether it be a government body, business or a church.

God gave us minds to reason with, we should use them and not rely on rigid rules which may not be just in all cases. Jesus spent His public life giving us examples of breaking rigid rules which did not apply in practical life.

Grandpa Don