I don't know where to begin. Not that I don't have the time (I really don't, I'm way too old), I just don't want to waste my time. My philosophy (glasses) doesn't visualize the United States of America (or the world for that matter) as a knot of dichotomies; I don't see two sides to every story/situation. I see an infinite number; the world is far more complex than the way Alana Newhouse is able to see/perhaps understand it.The Torah teaches us, Jews and non-Jews alike, those who bother to read it (to understand what it says, not to quote meaninglessly from it) that we are (all) made in His image, from His clay, from His essence, but it is up to us, each of us, to take that clay and make the best of it we can: with His help; very simply: "G*d helps those who help themselves." The editor appears to have great difficulty understanding this minor concept of Judaism.The United States of America is constantly evolving, trying/testing/tasting new philosophies, revisiting old ones through new/young minds that have not read/understood history, bouncing them against the Ten Commandments and the Constitution. Those of us who have have watched this pendulum swing, sometimes almost uncontrollably, worry every so often that it might come flying off its pivot; it has in the past; it will again in the future. When strong leaders take advantage of the disarray, it'll just require a stronger leader to replace it on its pivot. I read this article/mishmosh of ideas in its entirety - and re-read it to assure myself that I didn't misunderstand what the author was attempting to explain to her audience. I wasted my time; I apologize to you for wasting yours.