Misguided intensity

I was reading a post written in February by the Episcopal Bishop of Colorado. He was describing what it is like to to parish visitations throughout the state. And how he was confronted with similar anger and rigidity from the opposite ends of the religious spectrum. . . . He then wrote the following:

"As I drove home, I could hear the words of a friend of mine—a Mennonite from Iowa—echoing in my mind. Some years earlier he had shared a lay person’s perspective with a group of clergy. 'I just want you to know,'he said with great honesty and compassion, 'that from where I sit in the pews, I just can’t tell the difference.' He paused for a moment, and when he continued he spoke very quietly. 'I can’t tell the difference,' he said gently, 'between an angry, self-righteous liberal and an angry, self-righteous conservative.'"

Here's a link to the full post: http://coloradobishopsblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/ashes-and-attitude.html

This comment struck me particularly intensely -- because I tend to fall on the liberal end of the spectrum, and it is far too easy to become self-righteous.