Historians and others have noticed the link between personality types and political tendencies.

Some people are natural followers.  Others are natural leaders.  Some are born rebels.  And others may simply enjoy “taking a walk” without anyone following them.  More than one of these descriptions may apply to the same person.

My personality includes a rebellious streak.  I will never join a religious cult or a cult of personality.  I have unlimited disdain for authoritarian figures, those with those tendencies, and those who enable them.  I enjoy poking my proverbial fingers into the equally proverbial eyes of authority figures.  Yet I also strive to keep a balance, for one must follow the chain of command sometimes.  Knowing when to obey and when to tell authority figures to fly a kite is a mark of wisdom.  When I follow my own interests, I find that I am frequently a natural contrarian.  If I am simply “doing my own thing” or “taking a walk” without anyone following me, so be it.  And I am a citizen of a nation-state born in a rebellion against the British Empire.  As such, I am a natural anti-imperialist.

I also oppose theocracy consistently.

All politicians and political parties at all times and places should be small-D democratic and stand firmly within objective reality.  Those who are not disqualify themselves morally.  I can engage politically and positively with those who disagree with me regarding policies and affirm representative government but not with those who oppose representative government.

I also understand that creating and maintaining the common good requires balancing individual and collective rights and responsibilities.  Mutuality defines the common good.  Mutuality teaches that we all belong to and depend upon each other.  I cannot be my best self if the system prevents you from being your best self, for example.  I cannot be as healthy as I should be within a sick community.  Mutuality recognizes that we are accountable to each other and have no right to exploit each other.  Rampant individualism works against the common good, just as mutuality forbids trampling individuals.  This is a Biblical vision consistent with the Law of Moses and the ethics of the New Testament.

Simply put, my rights stop at the edge of your nose, just as your rights stop at the edge of my nose.  I have no absolute right to do whatever I want to do, for my actions affect others.

I also understand that gray areas exist, that not everything is black or white.  For example, as much as I detest abortion in most circumstances, I also understand that anti-abortion laws frequently have negative effects upon women’s health care.  Anti-abortion ideologues may not want to acknowledge this fact, but journalists have documented these consequences.  I also recall that, in Georgia years ago, one anti-abortion law had the unintended consequence of interfering with doctors’ malpractice insurance.  The legislator who sponsored that bill doubled down instead of apologizing and working to correct that issue.  Governance without principles is nihilistic, but governance that disregards the reality on the ground is bad, too.

Left, right, or center (whatever those terms mean in any given circumstance), my political bias takes the reality on the ground into consideration.  A good idea taken too far becomes a bad idea.  And some ideas are always bad.  Tactics matter; how one seeks to make a good idea reality is crucial.  People may go about it in a productive or a counter-productive manner.  And laws may be necessary and proper sometimes and not others.

I stand in the middle, I suppose.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 3, 2024 COMMON ERA

I, as a student and teacher of history, grasp the concepts of violent speech, defamation, libel, and free speech over time.  I know, for example, that for a long time in this country’s past, courts did not consider the veracity of printed statements in libel trials.  Finally, though, the standard that the truth was not libelous entered legal precedent.  Alexander Hamilton argued this point in People v. Croswell (1804), and the New York legislature wrote the truth defense into law the following year.

In an age of rising autocracy and “alternative facts,” with many people living in alternative universes and embracing fascism, understanding both objective reality and the limitations of free speech matter more than ever.  If I were to slander or libel someone, I would not enjoy the protection of the First Amendment.  If I were to write or say something unflattering yet true about someone, I would not commit libel, slander, or defamation.  If I were to incite people to perpetrate violence, I would commit a crime.

We live in dangerous times.  Prominent politicians incite their followers to violence frequently.  People ranging from election workers to would-be witnesses in court cases to other politicians receive threats, including death threats.  In such cases, the free speech defense is garbage.  I concede, that those who threaten or incite to violence may, in their minds, imagine themselves to be justified in their actions.  They may also think that 2 + 2 = 5.  They are wrong.  They are also criminals.  The courts should treat them accordingly, regardless of who they are.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 1, 2024 COMMON ERA

I have completed the drafting of the history (complete with endnotes) of Calvary Episcopal Church, Americus, Georgia. I feel as if a great burden has lifted from my shoulders.

My personality type is such that I commit to a project and stay with it to the end, regardless of how long that takes. I pushed hard to finish the drafting this weekend, and accomplished that goal on Good Friday, between the Noon and 7:00 p.m. services. I have organized the parish archives, preserved materials, researched the parish’s past, and written nearly 300 pages.

Now the processes of revising and editing the text will continue.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 31, 2024 COMMON ERA

EASTER DAY

 

I have stepped away from my weblogs for a while.  I have entered into a contract with the vestry of Calvary Episcopal Church, Americus, Georgia, to research and write a book–the updated the parish history.  The previous published parish history in book form, which spanned 1858-1912, debuted in 1912.

I am enjoying this process.  Hours pass and I barely notice them doing so.

I will revisit my weblogs occasionally for the next two months or so.  Meanwhile, I hope that everyone will not take offense when I do not answer comments immediately.  One task occupies my mind most of each day.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 21, 2023 COMMON ERA

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Or, You Know Where You Can Shove Your Advertisements

I would say, but this is a PG-rated weblog.

I adore ad blockers and despise advertisements.  I hate them with a passion most people reserve for beets and okra.  I have already expressed my unapologetic contempt for relentless advertising and its dehumanizing effects at this weblog, so I will not tread that ground more in this post.

As I was writing, I adore ad blockers.  They do make the Internet experience more pleasant.  Gone are the moments when, for example, I am enjoying a sublime artistic experience by watching a performance of a sacred work at a video website, only to bemoan the tacky advertisement which interrupts the holy moment.  On the other hand, some websites do not permit me view content because I use an ad blocker.  Usually, a box appears on my screen.  The text tells me that “we” do not like advertisements either, but they are an economic necessity.  Would I please permit advertisements at this website?  I say, en français, “Non!”  Such websites are not necessities in my life.

Ad blockers can accomplish only so much, though.  Advertisements are built-in aspects of many podcasts, for example.  Hosts read the advertising copy.  I move the progress bar forward to get past such commercial announcements.

You, O reader, may see an advertisement beneath these words.  I have nothing to do with that.  But you can remove it by using an ad blocker.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 3, 2023 COMMON ERA

One of my email accounts has again become a target for a barrage of phishing emails.  I have reported these as such and followed all the directions the email provider recommends.  Yet the emails have continued to arrive.

People who engage in phishing activities would do the world a favor if they would cease immediately and start doing something constructive.  They could try honest work, for example.  Alternatively, they could engage in humanitarian efforts.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 21, 2023 COMMON ERA

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In my first Episcopal parish, in the early 1990s, a woman–a convert to The Episcopal Church, and an extrovert–recalled her impression from years prior, when she had left her previous denomination.  She said of her Episcopal congregation from that previous time that she had never seen so many introverts in one place.

This statement has the ring of truth.  Many Episcopalians are self-described refugees from denominations with overzealous extroversion.  In terms of personality typing, the main characteristic of Evangelicalism is extroversion.  For me, an introvert, this is off-putting and alienating.  I prefer the quieter side of Christianity.  Holy hermits (both male and female) are some of my favorite saints.

I wonder what a study of clergy, their personality types, and their denominational affiliations would reveal.  I suspect that such a study would reveal that more clergy in the Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox/Episcopal corner of Christianity are introverted that in most Protestant denominations.  The existence of monasticism and of great openness to mysticism in those denominations is consistent with the acceptance of introversion.  I also guess that most Evangelical ministers are extroverts.

My priest is an introvert.  Whenever he makes comments about the social and spiritual aspects of introversion, I always resemble his remarks.  I have yet to compare notes with him, but, via my life, I understand the truth of what he says about the social and spiritual dimensions of introversion.  Our inward focus is an asset.  Yet, if we are not careful, our minds can be so busy that we are not inwardly quiet, although we are not saying anything.  I can easily go for long stretches of time without saying anything, but my mind is usually working.  I recall that, in 1995 or 1996, I finally quieted my mind for up to half an hour.  I remember this as being a wonderful experience.  I also recall that someone opened the door and ruined everything.

My society values extroversion and looks scornfully upon introversion.  So does much of the Evangelical tradition, with its disdain for monasticism and mysticism.  All that is unfortunate, for we introverts have much to offer the Church and society, too.  For example, we understand the importance of being quiet.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 16, 2023 COMMON ERA

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News of worker shortages and persistently vacant positions has become old news.

I wonder how many persistently vacant positions are due to worker shortages, how many are due to an imbalance (geographical, skills-related, etc.) in the work force, and how many are due to pokey human resources personnel.  A story from my past illustrates the last point.  I will provide no names, other than my own, of course.

I had applied to work for an employer in another city.  Too much time passed without a response.  I learned that the human resources department had yet to run the criminal background check.  So, I walked to the local police station and asked the officer on duty to run such a check on me.  He did, almost instantaneously.  He also typed a letter on official stationery and declared my record clean.  I thanked him and sent a copy of that letter to the human resources department.

That employer eventually hired me.  I do not know if the human resources department finally ran a background check on me or if they took the police department’s word for it.  But I should never have had to do the job of the human resources department.

I mentioned this incident to a supervisor.  He sympathized with me and informed that he had repeatedly counseled the human resources department to work faster.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 23, 2022 COMMON ERA

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Are you ignorant or apathetic?

I recall hearing a story that could be true.  A teacher, frustrated, asked a student,

The pupil replied,

I don’t know and I don’t care.

I live in an apartment complex.  We use dumpsters.  A company hauls away trash and picks out the recyclable content.

I always place my garbage inside the dumpster, usually the one closest to my apartment.  Some of my neighbors, however, do not do as I do.  They seem to think that placing the refuse near the dumpster suffices.  It does not.  The man who drives the big truck and empties the dumpsters does not take away that which is near the dumpster.

Are these neighbors ignorant, apathetic, or both?  And how complicated a concept can placing one’s trash inside a dumpster be?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 COMMON ERA

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For the last week, scammers and spammers have been targeting one of my email addresses.  I have reported each one of these emails as phishing, blocked addresses, and deleted many emails during the last few days.  I have vowed not to fall prey to these…individuals–these predators, vultures, and profane, more accurate, colorful labels.

I wish that such…carbon-based lifeforms would devote their time to positive pursuits instead.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 COMMON ERA

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