Curtis Klingle

Excessive Tolerance

I have worked for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office since 2014 and have witnessed many changes in our County, but one stands out above all others: the incessant increase in what I would call “excessive tolerance.”

To be tolerant is to, “show a willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behaviors that one does not necessarily agree with.” As defined, tolerance is to be unbigoted and accepting of others’ opinions, cultural practices, beliefs, religions, etc. It is what we, as Americans, have attempted to practice since the inception of this Country. However, that tolerance does not extend to rudeness, cursing in public, wearing your pants below your backside, open drug usage, or a plethora of other offensive practices our society has come to tolerate. In fact, what I referred to as “excessive tolerance” is not really tolerance at all, but to our detriment, it is more along the lines of acquiescence or apathy.

When we tolerate small departures from our norms, we quickly grow accustomed to them. This opens the door for greater deviations and a subsequent raising of the level of tolerance is the result; “excessive tolerance” becomes the new accepted level of tolerance. If you ponder the problem, what you will find is that these behaviors and wants always go against our norms at the outset. Just because a hedonist wants something doesn’t mean they are going to or even should get it, much less at the expense of the rest of society. This makes me think of the aphorism, “People in hell want ice water.” Rather than confront the problem at its inception, we acquiesce under the guise of being mindful and caring about another’s opinion or wants, when in fact we are merely being pusillanimous. Thus, raising our tolerance is a delusion, because being cowardly does not equate to tolerance.  

There is a metaphorical story which is applicable here. The story states if you toss a frog into a pot of boiling water, as soon as he touches the water he will jump out of the pot. However, if you place the frog into tepid water and then slowly heat it, the frog will adapt to the slow changes in water temperature and inevitably allow himself to be comfortably cooked to death. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one…” Continuing down the path of excessive tolerance only leads to additional degradation and the lowering of our morals at the whim of the debauched. This downward spiral continues until one finally looks around and recognizes that the “water is boiling,” and quite frankly folks, the water has been boiling for some time now.  

This should come to no one as a surprise when I say that Madison County is overrun with drug users. What is worse, we have come to not only tolerate this behavior, but I dare say, condone it. Nearly every person incarcerated in the Madison County Jail is in custody on charges either directly or indirectly related to drugs. Please understand, I think we should help anyone that has crossed the event horizon into this realm of suffering, and treat them with respect and sympathy, but we should in no way tolerate their actions, and yet, that is exactly where we find ourselves. It is as if we have abjured our own morals, mores, and norms and embraced this aberration.

The illegal drug problem is vast, and multi-faceted, and I will make no attempt to address it here. That being the case, I will limit my focus to one area where we as a community have failed. What I am placing in the spotlight is the fact that we are each guilty of not addressing the growing drug problem. As I previously pointed out, we have been “in the pot” for some time, whether by an act of our own volition, or one through omission, the results are the same. What I see as the most glaring proof of our excessive tolerance and subsequent failure in the realm of illegal drug usage can be found in the form of the business called the “smoke shop.” But also included in this tolerance are the host of convenience stores selling many of the same products that are sold in the smoke shops which are utilized in the consumption of illegal drugs. The proliferation of these establishments has been made possible via the fertile ground of excessive tolerance.  

I can assure you, if your local law enforcement had it their way, all of these shops would be banned and the convenience stores selling this crap would be shut down. The owners and employees will tell you that their products are meant for tobacco usage, and they will quickly add the disclaimer that they are not responsible if a customer uses the product illegally. Of course, I cannot recall ever seeing someone using a glass pipe for smoking tobacco, and the only literature you will find promoting this would be authored by one of the afore mentioned smoke shops or their suppliers. In fact, all articles on the topic give a resounding “no” to smoking tobacco with a glass pipe. Thus, regarding this issue, I can boldly deduce that even an imbecile would proclaim that the air is redolent of bovine excrement regarding their claims and disclaimers. It is evident that the proprietors of these businesses undoubtedly care nothing for this community or the individuals which they prey upon. Because they defend their actions, one cannot but assume that they, like their businesses, are pernicious in nature, like a cancer, eating away at its host. I remind you, there was a time when owners of such businesses would have been vehemently driven out of town with zero compassion.     

Peace officers can only enforce the law, and in this case, we are grossly limited by the law. Our elected legislators have been calling it a “war on drugs” for years now, but they treat it as if it were nothing more than a minor argument with a neighbor. One of the proofs of this view is in the wording of the drug paraphernalia laws. In their often supercilious lawyerly ways, they have made the drug paraphernalia laws so convoluted that they border on ludicrous, and I find their lack of enthusiasm in sincerely addressing the problem both ignoble and insipid. In a more than apt analogy, their inaction has allowed these shops and stores that sell these wares to slither their way through the loopholes in these laws in much the same way as a parasite finds its way into your bowels.

Law enforcement is a profession deemed necessary by society. Contrary to how the job is portrayed and romanticized in books, magazines, or in the movies, I consider it no more distinguished of a calling than any other profession. In fact, I often state that the policeman is actually analogous to the sanitation worker in that an empowered community will police itself, and the police officer is merely there to take out the trash. I believe that the community is still very much empowered and has not so much relinquished its power but has chosen to be cowardly.  

Edmund Burke declared, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

I think about Burke’s words often. Throughout history, this has indeed been the case in a myriad of wars, social injustices, and criminal incursions. And, as pointed as this may be, I am calling out the good men of Madison County. We, myself included, have stood idly by, no, that is not quite right; we have sat on our duff as the criminal element and those who cater to them have flourished.

A few years ago, a dear friend of mine took her granddaughter into a store in North Zulch. Once inside, she discovered that the store owner sold pipes and other implements used in drug use. This lady was incensed that the business owner and supposed “supporter” of the community was selling this stuff and doing so right in front of children. She decided to do something about it, and boy did she! She had a sign constructed announcing that the store sold these items and placed it in the bed of her pickup. She would park across from the store for hours on end. Her campaign was one of the most effective I have ever witnessed targeting change. I recall the proprietor asking law enforcement to order her to cease and desist her promulgation, to which we each gleefully declined. She was well within legal parameters and I, and many others, supported her wholeheartedly. A bit of time passed, and the store owner removed the products, but it wasn’t until after losing what I would estimate as some 30 to 40% of his business and quite possibly more. Keep in mind that this was all accomplished through the efforts of one determined grandmother.

Just think what could happen throughout Madison County with a community in solidarity with a single mission in mind. There are now four of these “smoke shops” in operation within the city limits of Madisonville and the numerous convenience stores that sell this crap are scattered throughout the City and County. It is obvious that these business owners care nothing about our communities, thus, we should make sure they know that we eagerly reciprocate the same sentiments for them.

I cannot encourage the residents of Madison County enough to rise up and help take back our community. Go to City council meetings, and attend the commissioner’s court, let your disdain with these businesses and their practices be known. It can really be as simple as boycotting these establishments or even taking the example of my friend. The alternative to inaction is to continue down the path of excessive tolerance, and we can all see how well that has worked out for us. 

C. Klingle