Under the termTolerance of ambiguityunderstand the abilitydifferent opinionsto endure andto accept. This ability isin a societywith a functioning culture of debate and discussionsubstantial. But only then,if human rights and democracy are not demolished and attacked. They need to be protected – always!
Even if current election results raise doubts, we live in a democracy. And it has a very central point: freedom of expression. It's important and right. But of course this only works if these opinions are accepted. And this is where the concept of ambiguity tolerance comes into play, i.e. the ability to tolerate heterogeneity and different opinions. Because even if we all always believe that our opinion is the only correct one, we must understand that diversity of opinions is very important for a modern society; this is the only way that as many people as possible can be considered. This all sounds pretentious and unrealistic, as if the ambiguity competence is only relevant for decision-makers in the Bundestag. But on a much smaller level it is a superpower that suits us all. Example: Family celebration at Christmas time. There will always be different opinions, even within a family, because despite genetics and blood relationships, individuality is still a thing. So if Aunt Gerda complains about gender, then you can of course argue objectively for gender with serious facts and studies (yes, there are enough meaningful ones), but in the end you have to accept it because it is a legitimate opinion. If you vote for the Greens yourself, but your dad votes for the FDP, then that's completely okay because both parties, no matter how compliant you are with the respective election programs, operate within a democratic spectrum and have their right to exist.
But you just have to accept opinions as long as they are what they are. If Great Uncle Herbert spouts some Nazi crap about remigration, then you can and should give Contra - and not too little of it. Yes, even if the mood suffers and Herbert's third wife Margit wants to go home a little early. Herbert no longer represents an opinion, but rather structural discrimination and racism. This is a serious threat to human rights and democracy - and all of this on the festival of love. If you want to master the skills of ambiguity, you first have to start being able to distinguish opinions from discrimination and objectively viewed bullshit. But it's not that difficult either. The latter is most popularly attempted to be concealed with the phrase: “What is it even allowed to say these days?”
Competence in ambiguity is not an excuse to stay out of every socio-political discussion and sit back because it somehow seems more comfortable than going into confrontation. And it is also no justification for accepting the asshole behavior of some fellow human beings so succinctly because you fear being labeled a party pooper. Ambiguity competence is the ability to respect the co-existence of different, legitimate opinions. And the fact that the word “tolerance” is included in ambiguity tolerance is no coincidence. Anyone who is unable to tolerate human rights does not deserve tolerance themselves. And that's just our opinion now.
