never odd or even

The Person sitting in darkness is almost sure to say: “There is something curious about this —curious and unaccountable. There must be two Americas: one that sets the captive free, and one that takes a once-captive’s freedom away from him, and picks a quarrel with him with nothing to found it on; then kills him to get his land.”

…we knew they were fighting for their independence, and that they had been at it for two years. We knew they supposed that we were also fighting in their worthy cause—just as we helped the Cubans fight for Cuban independence—and we allowed them to
go on thinking so. Until Manila was ours and we could get along without them. Then we showed our hand. Of course, they were surprised—that was natural; surprised and disappointed; disappointed and grieved. To them it looked un-American; uncharacteristic; foreign to our established traditions.