Fr. Dwight Longenecker
In my opinion it doesn’t have anything to do with liturgy or even with the Catholic faith. I think it just comes down to personality types. Some people tend to see their world and themselves in a certain way. The world is going to hell in a hand basket and we few, we faithful few will be “the Remnant” who survive the coming conflict and rise above it. In the meantime, everyone else out there are the enemy and they’re out to get us.
I’m exaggerating to make my point, but if my hunch is right, then that sort of person is likely to be drawn to a conservative form of religion, and if they’re Catholic it will be traditionalism. If I’m right, then they are unlikely to be the happiest of people to deal with. They’re likely to be a little bit suspicious of others and tend toward argumentation and anger.
I know this kind of personality type because the guy in the mirror looks that way sometimes.
So what. We’re all human. We all have blind spots. We all have weaknesses.
Steve’s five year old article is right. Traditionalists should realize that what could be called a “looney” tendency exists, and temper it when they see it rearing up. Those of us who aren’t traditionalists, but are sympathetic to the traditionalist movement should realize that “angry traddies” (like the poor) we will have with us always, but that most traditionalists are not the “rad trads” that are so vocal and visible.
Furtherore, we should remember that we will also always have “angry trendies”– people on the other end of the spectrum who also hold extreme opinions.
I think we should see their strengths, see all the good stuff they stand for, then tolerate them and excuse their eccentricities.
And they, in their mercy, should return the courtesy.
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