Don't give up hope and loyalty. I see it as how one deals with their family. We all or at least many of us have relatives that maybe need to see the inside of a slammer whether it be for drinking or gambling or just because they can be cruel, butth---s. Do we stand up for them because they are family? Well, if one has religion or just plain ole' morals . . . HELL NO-if they be wrong, Hell YES to treating them with kindness and love.
It's called tough love. (You don't see much tough love coming out of the Dem's rat hole.) We set clear limits and boundaries and call a spade a spade. Sometimes, just like family there just isn't much one can do about a thing 'like that'. But if children are endangered or others we set those limits aggressively and immediately and pray for everyone involved even the abusing family member. But we do also listen to their side and let them have their voice, as they are human beings. Sometimes very sick, but human beings and family.
WE can still have family/party loyalty. But live in reality and set good examples, limits. Some may argue for one take on the situation others another. But in the end we are all valuable as family/party members. Just because one expresses extreme loyalty and caution doesn't make loyalty a characteristic of denial.
I would be careful in over glorifying the founding fathers. Did they do some righteous, tough work? Heck yes! And we should honor them and speak highly of them. Yet, they too were also men, with egos, very large ones (this is part of what may have driven them) and some were also quite conniving and Thomas Jefferson got his slave pregnant, while he was married. Does this make him a bad man and eliminate the loyalty and patriotic respect we have for his other actions?
I don't think so, but we also need to remember all men and women throughout history have been only human and even when they achieve great things, many times they battled their own demons as we all do. The more we fluff up our forefathers and make them all good and no bad the more we distort our own mission as regular men and women today. Only saints have done it any better. All of us humans are before God as sinners and some even draw from that relationship to become better men, not perfect ones that leave great gifts, sometimes inspite of themselves. JMO. /rant.
BTTT
Beautifully stated. Bravo!