RAGGED THOTS: Tolkien Loud,Saying Nothing

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Tolkien Loud,Saying Nothing

Paging Peter Jackson!! Time to get started on that "Hobbit" flick!

A certain Pennsylvania senator has LOTR on his mind:

Embattled U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said America has avoided a second terrorist attack for five years because the "Eye of Mordor" has instead been drawn to Iraq.
Santorum used the analogy from one of his favorite books, J.R.R. Tolkien's 1950s fantasy classic, "Lord of the Rings," to put an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq into terms any school kid could easily understand.

"As the hobbits are going up Mount Doom, the Eye of Mordor is being drawn somewhere else," Santorum said, describing the tool the evil Lord Sauron used in search of the magical ring that would consolidate his power over Middle-earth."It's being drawn to Iraq and it's not being drawn to the U.S.," he continued. "You know what? I want to keep it on Iraq. I don't want the Eye to come back here to the United States."

As does a certain Bush administration social conservative apostate:

In some ways White House power is like [J.R.R.] Tolkien’s ring of power. When you put it on, it feels good and it’s dazzling. But after a while it begins to consume you in ways you don’t realize. That’s the nature of White House power. I have no doubt that Christian political leaders have gotten involved for all the right reasons. I just think over time it becomes harder and harder to stand up against that ring of power and the White House, to say no and walk away.

Your homework assignment for today, class, is to 1) Research other examples of contemporary public policy or politics that draw the most overwrought/simplistic analogy to J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"; 2) Identify an issue of your own and make a simplistic LOTR comparison. Originality and style count (meaning references of Karl Rove or Hillary Clinton to Gollum will result in an instant half-grade deduction).

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