Tolerance is another of life’s double edged swords.
Swing the sword one way and life is enhanced, reverse it and swing again and all that is good about life is sliced and untethered.
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| The good sense applied here by Joëlle Gergis contrasts with the nonsense talked by two radio DJs. |
A simple example of tolerance could be seen at Shepparton’s Victoria Park Lake.
An expanse of water in the city’s heart was irresistible to power boat owners whom, along with their skiers, pretty much claimed the lake for some years as their own, and although many grumbled about a minority having almost exclusive use, they tolerated their behaviour.
That all changed a few years ago when the Millennial Drought brought with it distinct difficulties for the lake and in about 2009 significant works changed it to what we see today — a friendly expanse of water, suitable for a variety of passive pastimes with the lake now an integral part of the environment in which it sits.
That change has a different intent, is welcomed by many, maybe most, but still it demands a degree of tolerance from a few, mainly those who continue to champion the idea of power boats on the lake.
Another change to the lake and its environs is coming, well the prepartory works have already started, for the building a new Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) on the banks of the lake — a service station that epitomises the questionable fossil fuel industry is being removed and replaced by symbol of a changing culture in the city.
The new gallery is not welcomed by all and so now the tolerance boot is on the other foot; first is was those alarmed by the offence of power boats who were forced to acquiesce and now the quiet and often intangible beauty of art, along with the equally subtle beauty of the environment has a grasp on the city’s imagination.
For the past couple of centuries industrialisation and its sibling, consumerism, has transformed life on earth, frequently for the better, but often it’s quite the reverse. Some have championed what has been happening, others, rather, have simply tolerated it.
The idea of tolerance has been simmering for some time and as history illustrates it has been the root cause of endless societal disruption bringing endless difficulties and with the latest example being the military intervention in Syria, an action some applaud, some decry and most simply tolerate.
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| Joëlle Gergis (centre) at the launch of 'Sunburnt Coutry"with Professor David Karoly (he mentored Joëlle and lanched the book) with the Executive Publisher at MUP, Sally Heath (far left) and the Dean of Science at University of Melbourne, Professor Karen Day. |
Recently, sitting in a coffee shop waiting for the late train back to Seymour after hearing Dr Joëlle Gergis (she’ll be in Shepparton in November) talk about her new book “Sunburnt Country: The history and future of climate change in Australia” in which the climate scientist uses plain language to explain the reality of climate change.
My coffee was accompanied by two fellows chatting on the radio about the delusions of those endorsing climate change science and talked with a confidence that camouflaged their deficit of knowledge and understanding of something quite unlike that ever seen before and which threatens the safety and stability of civilisation.
There was nothing I could do except tolerate the nonsense on the radio and tolerate it I did, but in doing that remembered the Edmund Burke quote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
So, is to tolerate something doing nothing? Well, yes it is, but in some instances it is essential except in those moments when people pollute our environment and risk life as we know it.
