So I looked him in the eye and told him that that exactly is the difference between Western civilization and despots such as Saddam. In the west, civilized governments can be banished from a country because they are civilized.
In Iraq Gandhi would have been nothing. He would have been fertilizer. No revolution, no sit ins, just fertilizer. That IS the difference between the USA and Britain and despots such as Hussein and Stalin.
The liberal was so shocked hearing the idea of Gandhi as fertilizer that his mouth just openend and shut like a fish.
Another listener standing by jsut said, "Too bad for you fella."
I grinned.
Ha! Showed him.