The story is that a student once asked Ghandi what he thought about Western Civilization, to which he replied "I think it would be a very good idea."

Just as a modern American can be found sneering or laughing at the futility of "barbarian" tribes in such a terrible state of constant war that they were never able to advance, so Ghandi must have felt when asked the question of Western civilization. Ghandi saw our history as one wrought with power struggles carried out under the banner of God or "the people" but moral ends are not met and the greater good is quietly ignored in place of personal profit. This is the folly of war.
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman discusses this phenomenon, showing how "from Troy to Vietnam" we have turned to the sword to solve our problems, even when alternatives were well within reach and more helpful, but all warnings are ignored in the "must" at a chance for glory. Until Michiaveli is discarded as a pathological and dark priest of a barbarian religion of greed, society faces a long and uphill struggle for advancement.

The internet is a major democratizing force, a gift that will change the human experience as completely as the introduction of move able type. With such a blindingly fast flow of information, maybe the sun is rising to light our dark times. This may sound over-dramatic, but I'm drunk. More on this later