Heaven preserve us from such cynicism.
Since Hobbes, liberalism has been defined as a form of government designed to preserve us from violent death.
It preserves us from expropriation while bathing us in a congenial blend of resentment and self-righteousness.
If they did, heaven preserve us from the tangled emotions and power struggles that would begin to strangulate routine health care.
"Heaven preserve us from all the sleek and dowdy virtues, such as punctuality, conscientiousness, fidelity and smugness!" So wrote Violet Keppel in her unruly call to arms to the great ruling passion of her life, Vita Sackville-West.
Of all the stories that I could tell you about the naïve belief, held dear around the world, that making fine-quality products would preserve us from failure and bankruptcy, I've chosen one of the happiest ones.
"There are around 150 of our little ones there... May God preserve us from the worst," said the prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, before he flew into the stricken city yesterday.
Slumped in the back seat of our dinky little chauffered Maruti, we had spent the journey covering our eyes, sipping vodka decanted to a water bottle, counting the decades of the rosary, imploring Lakshmi, Ganesh and various other forces of the universe to preserve us from imminent death.
While Dieckmann admittedly disdains any imperative to provide entertainment (and so she should - Lord preserve us from any kooky, heartwarming Guantánamo-inspired fictions that American or British authors may have in store), it would be unfair to conclude that she doesn't care about her readers.
"Lord preserve us from this devilry".
