while tony blair got inspired by thornton wilder's book "the bridge of san luis rey" (and the guardian explains why), i was thinking about another of wilder's plays, "the skin of our teeth" (dt. "wir sind noch einmal davongekommen").

therein, wilder "depicted five thousand years in the lives of george and maggie antrobus, a suburban new jersey couple, who, with their children gladys and henry and their maid sabina, struggle through flood, famine, ice, and war only to begin the series all over again" (quoted from pegasos).

on the one hand, this illustrates how knee-deep mankind had and has to wade through the morass of history's desasters as well as of self-inflicted odds and ends; fighting merciless struggles for bare existence in a world of the unknown. on the other hand, the plot certainly arouses hope for every human being that no matter what will come, there still remains a view and a path to the future – at least for the species as a whole...

"it's when you're safe at home that you wish you were having an adventure. when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home." -- thornton wilder, 1897–1975.