There is a lot of talk about tolerance and respect.  Both are essential in creating community. What does tolerance mean with regard to holding onto our own convictions?  In his book Crisis, Covenant and Creativity, Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo writes:

Let us be clear about one thing: apathy has nothing to do with tolerance.  We cannot achieve tolerance by relinquishing our every conviction. Tolerance, rather, speaks of the case in which we have convictions, but nonetheless are able to tolerate those with conviction different from our own.  In fact, the stronger our convictions, the more opportunity we have to be tolerant when faced by those with whom we disagree. But if we just don’t believe in anything, what is there to be tolerant about? (37-38)

This is where respect plays a major role.  How we speak with and about people with whom we disagree speaks volumes about who we are and how we create community.  We do not have to like everything or anything another community member says or believes, but we do need to try and understand it.  There is a difference between liking something and understanding it. I believe a mensch is someone who disagrees with a person but can still see the legitimacy in a piece of their opinion or argument.