The critical thing, I think, is to be careful and accurate in the identifying of who is a "them", who is an "us", and who is a "somebody else who unfortunately put on the same colour jacket today". When battle becomes necessary - as it sometimes does - it's all too easy to lose track of who has been positively identified as who.
Always be ready to say what you believe, and stand by it and act accordingly; Never be too quick to assume you know what the other fellow believes... But once he declares it, judge it on its merits, and speak acordingly; and try not to confuse it with what the other guy standing next to him believes, which is slightly different, and therefore recquires a slightly different response. And then when either of them acts, judge his *actions* on their own merits, and act acordingly.
(I speak both of literal and metaphorical battles, natch.)
(Also: "his" & "him" adopted for the sake of rhetorical style, not as indications of actul genders involved. =:o} )
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-09-12 02:17 pm (UTC)The critical thing, I think, is to be careful and accurate in the identifying of who is a "them", who is an "us", and who is a "somebody else who unfortunately put on the same colour jacket today". When battle becomes necessary - as it sometimes does - it's all too easy to lose track of who has been positively identified as who.
Always be ready to say what you believe, and stand by it and act accordingly; Never be too quick to assume you know what the other fellow believes... But once he declares it, judge it on its merits, and speak acordingly; and try not to confuse it with what the other guy standing next to him believes, which is slightly different, and therefore recquires a slightly different response. And then when either of them acts, judge his *actions* on their own merits, and act acordingly.
(I speak both of literal and metaphorical battles, natch.)
(Also: "his" & "him" adopted for the sake of rhetorical style, not as indications of actul genders involved. =:o} )