Book of Job 30:15-18

In dreams, in visions of the night
when deepest sleep falls upon men,
while they sleep in their beds, God makes them listen,
and his correction strikes them with terror.
To turn a man from reckless conduct,
to check the pride of mortal man,
at the edge of the pit he holds him back alive
and stops him from crossing the river of death.

The power of Uncle Sheriff, let's just call it hope, or the destructiveness of man's basic nature. You decide which is stronger.

PS: Just don't ask Dr. Stranglove or the folks kidnapped regularly in Sri Lanka (home of Free Culture fave Maya Arulpragasam)