Sadly we cannot claim Conrad as an American writer - he was Polish born and as an adult adopted Britain as his home. He is generally considered a British writer.

When considering the Bush administration, the Republicans generally and the disastrous wars they have led us into I am reminded of the Yeats poem "The Second Coming" when he writes that

"everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity."