Truth-Bringer
02-03-2008, 10:38 AM
The War for Middle Earth
by Steven LaTulippe
A friend gave me the Lord of the Rings trilogy on DVD this past Christmas, and I finally got around to watching them the other day. Since I hadn’t seen the series in a few years, I’d forgotten just how magnificent the movies really are. Before their release, I had been openly skeptical that anyone could do justice to Tolkien’s marvelous trilogy, but director Peter Jackson and his cast and crew did it; they hit a grand slam.
As I watched the movies, I was struck by the timeless and universal themes woven into Tolkien’s tale. Power, and the seductive pull it exerts on the human psyche, is at the heart of the human experience and at the root of most of our tragedies.
By the time the final credits rolled, I got a sinking feeling that many of the movie’s characters and plot themes were being repeated all around us in a tragic example of life imitating art.
With several ongoing wars, an economy in peril, and a farcical electoral season upon us, the pursuit of power is the narrative of the day, and our cast of characters is veritably Tolkienesque.
Here, then, are my nominations for our very own Americanized version of The Lord of the Rings:
Saruman the White: Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan was once a white wizard of libertarianism. He preached the gospel of individual liberty and free market economics all over the world. For years, he collaborated with Ayn Rand, and he even wrote an eloquent paean on the virtues of the gold standard.
But as the years passed, he ensconced himself high atop the Fed Tower in Washington and hungrily stared into Sauron’s crystal ball. Seduced by the dark side, he sent forth swarms of counterfeit dollars, more destructive than any horde of uruk-hai, to obliterate our economy and wreck the livelihood of our people.
Frodo Baggins: Ron Paul
Long ago, America had rulers who respected our constitution and actually believed that there should be reasonable limits to the federal government’s power. During that time, the nation prospered and the people lived in peace. But when our Founders’ line disappeared, a succession of power-mongering con artists took over. Now, we teeter on the edge of bankruptcy in an age of intrusive government and ceaseless warfare. Ron Paul, a diminutive, humble man from a shire somewhere in Texas, seeks to take the One Ring and hurl it into the fires of Mount Doom. While there is always hope, his is a long and difficult journey, and his chances of success are slim.
Sméagol: Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton had the One Ring for eight long years. She reveled in its power and glory until it was taken away by George W. Bush. Ever since then, she’s been trolling around the countryside in a desperate quest to get it back. (Rumor has it that she goes to bed at night caressing a miniature copy of the Presidential Seal while mumbling "my precious.")
Rest of Article Here (http://www.lewrockwell.com/latulippe/latulippe83.html)
by Steven LaTulippe
A friend gave me the Lord of the Rings trilogy on DVD this past Christmas, and I finally got around to watching them the other day. Since I hadn’t seen the series in a few years, I’d forgotten just how magnificent the movies really are. Before their release, I had been openly skeptical that anyone could do justice to Tolkien’s marvelous trilogy, but director Peter Jackson and his cast and crew did it; they hit a grand slam.
As I watched the movies, I was struck by the timeless and universal themes woven into Tolkien’s tale. Power, and the seductive pull it exerts on the human psyche, is at the heart of the human experience and at the root of most of our tragedies.
By the time the final credits rolled, I got a sinking feeling that many of the movie’s characters and plot themes were being repeated all around us in a tragic example of life imitating art.
With several ongoing wars, an economy in peril, and a farcical electoral season upon us, the pursuit of power is the narrative of the day, and our cast of characters is veritably Tolkienesque.
Here, then, are my nominations for our very own Americanized version of The Lord of the Rings:
Saruman the White: Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan was once a white wizard of libertarianism. He preached the gospel of individual liberty and free market economics all over the world. For years, he collaborated with Ayn Rand, and he even wrote an eloquent paean on the virtues of the gold standard.
But as the years passed, he ensconced himself high atop the Fed Tower in Washington and hungrily stared into Sauron’s crystal ball. Seduced by the dark side, he sent forth swarms of counterfeit dollars, more destructive than any horde of uruk-hai, to obliterate our economy and wreck the livelihood of our people.
Frodo Baggins: Ron Paul
Long ago, America had rulers who respected our constitution and actually believed that there should be reasonable limits to the federal government’s power. During that time, the nation prospered and the people lived in peace. But when our Founders’ line disappeared, a succession of power-mongering con artists took over. Now, we teeter on the edge of bankruptcy in an age of intrusive government and ceaseless warfare. Ron Paul, a diminutive, humble man from a shire somewhere in Texas, seeks to take the One Ring and hurl it into the fires of Mount Doom. While there is always hope, his is a long and difficult journey, and his chances of success are slim.
Sméagol: Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton had the One Ring for eight long years. She reveled in its power and glory until it was taken away by George W. Bush. Ever since then, she’s been trolling around the countryside in a desperate quest to get it back. (Rumor has it that she goes to bed at night caressing a miniature copy of the Presidential Seal while mumbling "my precious.")
Rest of Article Here (http://www.lewrockwell.com/latulippe/latulippe83.html)