Santorum: Protecting the U.S. from Lord Sauron
In a meeting with the editorial board of the Bucks County Courier Times, Sen. Rick Santorum used J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to explain his support for the Iraq war:
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."
This comment writes its own punchline, but as a teen-aged dungeon master I'm the wrong person to mock Sen. Santorum for dorky analogies. One of these days I'll write on my blog about how the battle of Sadr City was like the Caves of Chaos.
But if we're mapping the Lord of the Rings onto Iraq, the books pitted weak hobbits relying on stealth and guerrilla warfare against a mighty superpower that had a huge army and amazing surveillance capabilities. They defeated Lord Sauron by drawing him into a military conflict as a distraction while the hobbits snuck into Sauron's homeland and destroyed him with the medieval equivalent of a suitcase nuke.
Comments
And here I thought you left your teenage years behind a couple of decades ago. I know I did.
I still have my dice and a well-thumbed copy of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Make a saving throw.
Colbert is a MASSIVE Rings fan, so I can't wait to see what he has to say about this.
Unfortunately the Iraqis weren't asked if it was ok for the U.S. to draw the Eye of Mordor to them. I suspect they'd prefer it focusing on the U.S.
Your analysis stops short and fails to note that this is but a variation of a theme heard earlier: "We're fighting the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and across the world so we do not have to face them here at home." -- George Bush, July 11, 2005. What you further fail to note is the absolute and unequivocal amorality of any metaphor, strategy or explanation that posits its okay if others die provided the U.S. remains safe. Making fun of Santorum misses the underlying sickness that is informing American foreign policy.
Reality Kid FTW!
That's an interesting anology.
Reality "Kid". I'm not sure what reality you see when your sleep crusted eyes open on the morn, but as an American, I can assure you, that I'd rather have the fight elsewhere. And who wouldn't.
That being said, I think if the fight came here, I'd be ready as well.
I wait with baited breathe for the day when all those "moderate" muzzies rise up and strike back at those who make a mockery of their sainted and peaceful religion.
Until then.......
Sadly the metaphor works far better the other way around:
The Two Towers (Sauron and Saruman) are America and Israel, threatening to overrun Middle Earth and destroy its natural resources (ents, forests), reducing the planet to cinders.
The Fellowship is Al-Qaida, the last ragged band of resistance, struggling against the odds to defeat the behemoth
etc.etc....
Watch out there, MYOB, you're in enemy combatant-land with that remark.
You want the Eye of Sauron on YOU?
If you want to continue the metaphor, you could say that the drugging of our kids is the attempt to find the one carrying the ring.
Just to incite something with superstitious folk, may I point out that all the letters of the word 'Sauron' are present in Santorum's surname. Veddy interesting...
I would say that with its globe-encompassing nuclear offensive shield and globe encircling military bases that the U.S. has consolidated its power over Planet Earth and is a de facto empire. I don't want to belabor a too-obvious simile, but it might be profitable if someone in the Bush Administration who actually knows some history re-read Gibbons. And while Bush's Boys pound the drum-beat for eternal vigilance against terrorists, I certainly hope someone within the White House, and surely the Pentagon, has been pondering the possible scenarios of history as the Dragon of China begins to flex its muscles. After all, China has a culture over five thousand years old, and it's a culture that has always had its Eye on the Ring.
The eye of what? Has Santorum developed an acid habit? Just shows you how far the Iraq War cheeleaders are removed from objective reality.
Look out, RepubliFundie America: this is another seduction attempt by the Pederast Right to tempt your sons into having sex with one of your Republican Leaders.
But hey, if Abraham was willing to donate his own son as a blood sacrifice to God, the least Fundie America can do is donate the tender, supple cornholes of their young sons to the Republican leadershit.
Ask your pastors: God truly wants it this way.
Freakin' awesome closing analogy.
It is not without merit to suggest that terrorists who want to target Americans on American soil may in fact find going to Iraq and targeting an American Soldier a better proposition. It is also not without merit so suggest that the longer we stay in Iraq the more hostile the world wide terrorist organizations will become and their passion to kill Americans will grow and thus their passion to come harm Americans on American soil will rise. This situation works both ways.
I do like this image/painting. I would like to have this on the wall of my Loft....
It is Bush that is Sauron indeed: He and his minions desire dominion over all life. The battlefronts are in Iraq, in Mexico(Oaxaca, etc), and so many other places.
Indeed, to draw the Eye of Mordor to Iraq while the hobbits sneak into the fortress bearing power strong enough to bring down Mordor is a valid strategy of war-but it is NOT Bush that can ever use, as he sits on the throne of Barad-Dur and the Ring is his own.
It is worth bearing in mind that Mordor and Isengard are the only industrial states in Middel Earth, and are based on misery and oppression of all. Vast armies of slaves work the fields in the southern part of Mordor to feed the Orcs in the North. Sound familiar?
What is the ring? Well, nuclear weapons and genetic engineering both bear aspects of it. So does the absolute power Bush has tried without sucess to claim for himself.
What is the eye? It is the total surveillance power the US has attempted to build up.
Who are the hobbits? They are the campesinos and small farmers of the world who would like notign better than to thorw off the yoke of "free trade"-and the guerilla movements they create.
Who are the Elves? They are those who fight for our dear Earth against all thsoe who would destroy it.
Who are the Orcs? People like defeated Senator Santorum, who thank Gaia has been thrown out!
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