Blind allegiance to party over country

On Election Day, how many of us went to the polls driven by a single truth that should guide all our political decision-making – i.e., acting solely in the country’s best interests? A sudden flashback to a personal incident during my Marine Corps service, occurring over half a century earlier, reminded me that an institution’s best interests sadly are not always given such priority.

Returning to Okinawa after a Vietnam deployment, I was a young “gung ho” first lieutenant in command of a rifle company.