Be the Exception - Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

Have you ever wonder where this expression/saying came from?  Hundreds of years ago the family (in some European cultures) would take their annual bath.  The most senior member would take the first bath, followed by each family member and finally the baby.  This would be done in the same tub and using the same bathwater.  By the time the baby was washed, as you can well imagine, the water would be quite filthy.  If completely immersed, they baby, often could not even be seen.
This annual bath was usually in the spring and also one of the reasons for the popularity of June brides and June weddings.  The couple to be, was relatively clean and washed.

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater has become a popular cultural movement.  Important people in our history were almost always flawed.  While they may have accomplished great things and made great advances, it can be easy to pick at faults and overlook the good.  Unfortunately, that can be a tendency in our interactions with each other.  There is a danger in this.

Even if we are doing our best, most of the time, to Be the Exception, we are flawed and even in self-improvement, will continue to be flawed.  Doesn't it make sense to recognize and increase the good in ourselves, reinforce the good in others, and remember the good in those who have gone before?