Compromising with Evil: The False Virtue of Tolerance
Brian Sankarsingh writes about the tolerance on the 4th July 2025
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The inspiration for this opinion piece came from this article - https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/fear-intel-leaks-trump-takes-35488972
I am saddened that these are the type of thoughts that occupy my mind this July 04th 2025; but here we are faced with social media posts like this, about the democratic pick for mayor of NYC, from a sitting president of the most powerful country on earth.
Or posts like this from one of his supporters that was reshared over one thousand times and with over five thousand likes about the building of what’s being called Alligator Alcatraz
Once upon a time we lived in a world that prized tolerance as a cardinal virtue. The call to “compromise” was often held up as the highest form of moral maturity. We were told that to live peacefully, we must meet others halfway, even when their values clash with our own. Over the course of time this has changed. Now, were faced with another question we must answer” “what happens when the other side is not merely different, but evil?” What if, in our quest to rediscover, or maybe reinvent, our understanding of tolerance, we find ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder with those who perpetuate harm, injustice, or cruelty?
First let’s agree that a proper definition of tolerance, in its truest sense, would be the willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behavior that we may not necessarily agree with. This attitude is a necessary ingredient for pluralistic societies. It is a safeguard against the tyranny of conformity. But tolerance, when misapplied, can become a shield for the intolerable. When we compromise with evil when we make space for it, excuse it, or allow it to persist in the name of harmony. If we do this, are we still practicing virtue? Or could it be that we are participating in vice.
History is replete with examples of this dangerous confusion. Consider the appeasement of fascism in the 1930s, when world leaders, desperate to avoid conflict, turned a blind eye to the early aggressions of Nazi Germany. Their compromise was not a mark of wisdom or tolerance; it was a failure of moral courage, one that enabled atrocities on an unimaginable scale. The lesson is clear: evil does not retreat when met with tolerance. It advances. To compromise with evil is to become complicit in its outcomes. This is not mere rhetoric—it is a truth borne out in the lives of those who have suffered under systems of oppression. When the enslaved were told to be patient, to wait for freedom, to compromise with their captors, the result was not peace but prolonged suffering. When societies have tolerated racism, sexism, or other forms of bigotry in the name of “getting along,” the result has been the perpetuation of injustice, and this generally leads to torture and death of many people.
To be clear, compromise, in these contexts, does not represent a bridge to understanding but rather a surrender of principle. It is a tacit admission that some lives matter less, that some harms are acceptable, that evil can be negotiated with. But evil, by its nature, is insatiable. It does not seek compromise; it seeks conquest. True tolerance requires discernment. It demands that we distinguish between differences that can be embraced and evils that must be resisted. It calls us to recognize that not all values are equal, and that some lines must never be crossed. To stand firm against evil is not to be intolerant; it is to be just. This is not an easy path. It requires the courage to be unpopular, to risk conflict, to bear the weight of moral responsibility. But history honors those who refused to compromise with evil. We remember those who, in the face of overwhelming pressure, chose resistance over acquiescence. Their legacy is not one of intolerance, but of integrity.
In the end, the price of peace with evil is too high. It is paid in the currency of human suffering, lost dignity, and broken lives. To compromise with evil does not build a better world in the future, it also betrays the world we live in now. Tolerance is a virtue, but only when it serves the cause of justice. When it becomes a cloak for cowardice or complicity, it ceases to be a virtue at all. We do well to remember that the measure of our character is not how well we tolerate the intolerable, but how bravely we confront it. In the words of Elie Wiesel, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Compromising with evil does not make us tolerant, it makes us, inescapably, part of evil itself.
The False Virtue
Once, we crowned tolerance
as the highest star
a gentle word, a bridge
across the chasms of beliefs
We met halfway
even when the other side
was shadowed
even when the bargain
cost us pieces of our soul
But what of evil
draped in the language of difference
What of cruelty
masked as another point of view
History’s ledger is heavy
with the price of appeasement
the people
eyes averted
as darkness gathered
as the downtrodden
were told to wait
to compromise
to bear the lash for peace
Tolerance, true and bright
is the courage to allow
what we do not love
but not to shelter
what must not be allowed
When we make room for evil
when we call it harmony
we do not build peace
we build complicity
Evil does not bargain
It does not rest
It advances
hungry for surrender
for the silence of the just
To compromise with evil
is to say
some lives matter less
some wounds are acceptable
some lines can be erased
But true tolerance
is not a blindfold
It is discernment
the wisdom to know
what can be embraced
and what must be resisted
It is the courage
to stand alone
to risk the scorn of the crowd
to bear the weight
of moral responsibility
History remembers
not the silent
but the steadfast
those who refused
to trade justice for comfort
who chose resistance
over acquiescence
integrity over ease
The price of peace with evil
is paid in suffering
in dignity lost
in lives broken
Tolerance is a virtue
only when it serves justice
When it becomes a cloak
for cowardice
it is no virtue at all
We do well to remember
our character is measured
not by how well we tolerate
the intolerable
but by how bravely
we confront it
We must always take sides
Neutrality is a wound
that never heals
To compromise with evil
is to become
its willing shadow
Bio: Brian Sankarsingh is a poetic firebrand, a sharp, thoughtful storyteller who walks the crossroads where Caribbean folklore, social justice, and the human condition collide. He is a truth-seeker who questions political tribes, challenges lazy platitudes, and writes with a deep pulse of empathy, always pushing for nuance whether you're exploring grief, cultural identity, or the monsters that haunt cane fields and hearts alike. He blends advocacy and art seamlessly. He is part historian, part philosopher, part bard, driven by a hunger to illuminate overlooked stories and empower marginalized voices.
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