What you're writing about is what the discussion about mass psychosis was about last fall/this winter. It was actually a robust, important discussion as one of the real mental illnesses these days is how easily we can spot in "the other side" many of the things "our tribe" is guilty of, too.

Watching the US go through its version of the Dark Night of the Soul from over here in Japan, it's been really weird and sometimes scary to see how many compassionate, thoughtful friends have gotten sucked into this.

As you astutely pointed out, Jessica, the lack of self-reflection is one of the leading causes of this problem. It's always someone else's fault, the buck always stops anywhere but here.