Save the World Entire

For a long time I've been fascinated by the "Righteous Among the Nations", a title given by the Yad Vashem foundation to those who saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust. It is, I believe, the highest honor that Israel can confer upon a non-citizen.

Of course, the concept is much older than that. In the Jewish tradition, Righteous Among the Nations was an acknowledgement that even among the Gentiles, there were plenty of good, honest, honorable people. Perhaps they even believed in the same God, just in a different way. Christian philosophy (sometimes...) admits the same point, but it's hazier and I can't think of a succinct term for it.

I worry more and more that this simple realization is being forgotten in modern politics. Any time someone issues a blanket condemnation of a large group (liberal, conservative, or whatever), they're essentially denying that there could be any righteous people among those that they disagree with. I know I harp on this a lot, but it preoccupies me: how can there ever be constructive debate when you don't respect the person you're debating?

Sometimes I tell a friend that they're a "good person". I don't think they realize I'm referencing a much larger concept. Really, it's the greatest compliment I could possibly give.