Don't be such a gloomy gus. Slowly but surely, democracy and western civilization spread, while backwardness, poverty and repression recede. Who'd have thought a century ago Japan would ever have democracy? South Korea would be making decent quality cars? Mexicans would have electricity? India would have a close approximation of democracy? The French would have air conditioners... well, maybe next century.

Actually, the late 19th century liberals - not to be confused what what we call "liberals" today, who are really just leftists - would have imagined it. But nobody else would. The old elite wouldn't even think about the future. The left - still in that age distinct from the elitists - would have some vague but colorful notion of a workers' paradise or something. They saw the future through a vaseline-smeared lens, and with triumphal fanfare for a soundtrack. The *real* liberals would not have foreseen the world wars, or that there would no huge airships in the skies, and maybe they'd have thought we'd be further along in the process by now. But on the whole, their predictions would be far closer to the actual outcome than anyone else's.

Buck up. We're getting there. If there were not clear signs of progress after all this time, I wouldn't be advocating it. I leave it to the left and other deluded fools to insist on [link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/appeasement.html|approaches that just don't work at all]. But when I see steady progress, when nothing else has even yielded that much, I follow through to the finish. That's how I approach a problem, when something absolutely must be fixed. And damn if it doesn't work.

(Given the nature of our enemy, and the ease of travel in our modern world, it should go without saying the problem of these bloodthirsty loons clinging to the Dark Ages absolutely must be fixed. "Live and let live" only works if both sides agree to it. And they're not inclined to agree to it.)

How many more swipes? As many as it takes. If we're in a hurry for some reason, soak it. And if we run out of turpentine, buy some more.