QotD: The right to be narrow-minded

My personal favorite quotation comes from American Family Radio journalist Bill Fancher, who apparently declared, "The media doesn't understand [conservative Christians'] inability to compromise on principles. I don't apologize for being narrow-minded."

Actually, it's perfectly all right for Fancher and friends to be uncompromising and narrow-minded in their personal lives. And they can play pretend that they are a persecuted minority, if that makes them feel better. But what's not all right is for them to try to impose their narrow-minded views on other people. According to my reading of the Constitution, the deal is that if they want to hold fast to their narrow-minded views, they have to allow their fellow citizens to have theirs. As unpleasant as narrow-minded people like Fancher may find it, it's not persecution to have to put up with people who disagree with you.

Ronald Bailey, "Celebrating Narrow-Minded Christians", Hit and Run, 2006-03-29