I’m fairly certain you’re no fan of a certain commentator’s views either (first name Ann, last name escapes me), but in her usual trenchant way she once asked how the Democrats can expect their new President to be respected at all costs when they showed anything but like respect to the Republicans’ President. The question needed to be asked, and one could hardly blame her for ironically proposing “tit for tat” (even if in the end she meant us to realize that this would be dishonorable).

With all due respect, however (and as one who seeks to emulate the example of the original New Testament Church, I stay out of political affairs and loyalties for some very good reasons), I submit it would be going too far to claim that President Bush was stubborn, close-minded, or religiously and socially self-righteous. I won’t assume that you’re actually arguing this, but I think you do recognize the temptation to argue it. It almost sounds like the reaction of one type, or perhaps one temperament or interactive style, to another that isn’t well-understood.

IMO President Bush was “sincere, if often sincerely wrong”, and though I could be wrong about this, I think he was a Stabilizer of some kind. (My church culture — which is at the core of my life — doesn’t support political parties, but it does respect Stabilizers a lot, so no doubt that influences my regard for Pres. Bush.) I’m not quite so sure one can say even that much about the apparent fellow Catalyst President Obama (again IMO), but if so it’s because he’s letting his Shadow affect him more. If better informed and less narcissist, he could truly bring change and hope to people. (Could he be an ENFP?) And that leads me to think of something that may prove useful in your thinking about this subject.

Have you encountered The Political Compass online (it’s based in the UK)? I suggest that its fourfold Cartesian graph of political quadrants may map closely to the map of temperaments. The authoritarian-libertarian y-axis is social, the conservative-liberal x-axis is economic. So would Improvisers tend to be libertarian-conservative, Stablizers authoritarian-conservative, Catalysts authoritarian-liberal, and Theorists libertarian-liberal? Or is there something else being measured that might map onto the theory of personality type (giving yet another model to play with)? Or should we divide up the Compass in some other, type-consistent way? Your reactions would be interesting.

Now my political position isn’t dependent on my natural type. On the Compass I literally test out almost dead center, and it’s because I believe in a dedication to balance between authority and liberty and between private property and public welfare that transcends what any one human being might prefer naturally. (When I deliberately put in my “gut” reactions, interestingly, I was still centrist economically but highly authoritarian in terms of social order! But in hindsight I’m guessing that my personal brand of Shadow came into play there…how, I’m not yet sure.)

I have always firmly believed that we should treat others with the same respect, compassion and forgiveness that we ourselves would expect in return. It is when we forget this eternal truth that the worst of the excesses and evils that we are capable of rear their ugly head, as has been shown time and again throughout history. It is a frighteningly small step to move from dehumanizing another person as a ‘thing’ to coming up with the ‘final solution’. We may not have control over another person’s viewpoint, perspective or decisions but we certainly have control of our own. We may not be able to control what other people say or do, but we certainly can manage our own actions and words. It is by own choices that we can move to make the world a better place, building tolerant and caring relationships, supporting others and fostering a sense of belonging and self worth. Rather than by engaging in cruel ridicule and belittling insults, which serve only to tear down relationships and destroy the very core of our humanity, it is by sharing our differences in a tolerant and caring way that we can learn and grow.

Best regards,
Charles [INFJ]