In the Manichean world of modern US politics, the primary impulse is to always frame things as Us vs Them, with Us being the purveyors of all virtue and Them being the dastards of all darkness and evil. Not only is this reflex divisiveness not helpful in the long run, it allows evil (or at least stupidity) to flourish within the ranks of Us.
It's a balancing act, sometimes, because internal divisiveness before an implacable enemy can seem potentially deadly. But if we don't have the courage to deal with the motes in Our own collective eye, and point out where people who are formally on Our side are doing wrong or committing error, then any pretense we have to being on the side of virtue goes out the door.
As Teddy Roosevelt says, far less floridly, below. #ddtb
Reshared post from +T.R. Almanac
"When I deal with a crook, I don't care whether he is a Republican crook or a Democratic crook. But I will always tend to hit the Republican crook a little harder because I feel a little responsible for him. It is the duty of all Americans to protest against dishonest public servants."
– T.R., 18 January 1911 speech to Union of American Hebrew Congregations
in New York City
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