The American Spectator

p> CAN CONSERVATIVES BE MEN? br> Re: Quin Hillyer’s Bad News Everywhere I Look : /p> p>Quin Hillyer quoted Winston Churchill’s dramatic speech made at the beginning of the Battle of Britain, when he promised blood, toil, tears and sweat. I am a long time fan of Churchill’s, I have all his books and speeches and I have read the lot, save for the one bad novel he wrote when he was a young man that he himself said he did not encourage his friends to read. In that speech, Churchill said his aim was victory, he wasn’t going to give up until Germany was defeated and occupied Europe was liberated from a dismal, dark tyranny made worse by perverted science. Churchill spoke unapologetically of victory, but I am always struck at how rarely Americans do this, they seemed to be positively embarrassed by the thought of turning their enemies and their execrable ideas into defeated, irrelevant historical trash, let alone saying this openly. Talking about blood, toil, tears and sweat is not enough — it wasn’t enough for Churchill — talk but winning and overcoming and how this can be done. How do you expect to win when you don’t have the nerve to even say so? No wonder conservative values are losing out across the board — the people who are supposedly trying to protect and advance them are morally half beaten before they even start to fight. br> — Christopher Holland br> Canberra, Australia /p>

Agree with Mr. Hillyer regarding the utterly depressing state of affairs around the world.

His comments regarding France (ugh!), Spain, Italy and the rest of Europe, while true, one should also remember that these second- and third-rate “powers” have always been this way — unreliable and teetering on the precipice of sanity.

The U.K., however, deserves more trust. While Mr. Hillyer may be dazzled by Tony Blair and his unwavering support for the war being fought in Iraq, it should be remembered that he is less trusted at home and, even, the less gullible abroad. It might well turn out that Labour’s dour Mr. Brown or the opportunistic Mr. Cameron could continue this support in Iraq and not leave it high and dry as Mr. Hillyer suggests.

This time, the West has to get it right I’d like to think that this is a phase we are all going through, principally, brought about by sheer greed and dishonesty coupled with a tremendous lack of intellect by the people who govern us.