Daniel Smith: How being ‘woke’ is a badge of honour but tolerance goes both ways

If I was an American, I reckon some people would refer to me as a San Francisco liberal.

Not that I would have a problem with that. As with the term “woke”, one person’s insult is another person’s badge of honour. In this case, awarded to those of us who take issue with sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia and religious discrimination.

But, in his speech to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week, Barrack Obama reminded us that tolerance must cut both ways.

“If a parent or grandparent occasionally says something that makes us cringe, we don’t automatically assume they’re bad people,” Obama said. “We recognise that the world is moving fast, that they need time and maybe a little encouragement to catch up.”

Obama went on to remind progressives that each of us has their blind spots and prejudices. And that the key to winning people over is to listen to their concerns and try to learn something in the process.

This is not to say we should walk by discrimination. But, we need to distinguish between people who knowingly violate the dignity of others, and those who mean well, but may not be up with the latest thinking or lingo.

As Bill Clinton said on the night after Obama spoke, we don’t have to pretend we agree with people, when we don’t. But we do need to treat them with respect, and we certainly shouldn’t demean them.

Which is advice all San Francisco liberals, hoping to make the world a more tolerant place, should heed.

Daniel Smith is executive chair of ReGen Strategic.