I've been thinking about how this whole situation reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings trilogy of books. Certainly, themes of good versus evil are hardly original, either in politics or in literature, and while a fantasy series penned by an English professor of languages several decades ago should not be called prophetic in any way vis-a-vis an American presidential race, one can indeed torture the data to come up with some
intriguing parallels to his classic tales. Take this journey with me, and see if it doesn't tickle your intellectual fancy.
Long ago, Sauron the Deceiver was
smashed in a classic battle against mortal kind, Elves and Men alike. Should we consider that this is emblematic of oil and money, then this "ring" jas been coveted by men down through the ages, with no need for a supernatural force to urge them onward. It seems to me that Osama bin Laden
fits the role of Sauron nicely, as he resorts to lies, discreet acts of terrorism, and finally, full-scale murder to get what he wants. Likewise, the Orc marauders who battle for Sauron are
al-Qaeda terrorists.
Sauron/Osama met his first defeat at the hands of Isildur, the son of the slain human king, just when all hope seemed lost. Isildur, alas, was then corrupted by the one all-powerful weapon in Sauron's disposal: the One Ring to rule them all. In this analysis, the corrupted king represents Western democracy in general, always trying to bargain with the devil, i.e., befriending (even covertly funding and arming) petty tyrants and dictators because they are our "allies against communism/terrorism" and so forth.
What of these fabulous wizards, the Istari, who appear in the form of sage old men? Gandalf and Saruman choose vey different paths; Saruman, of course, ends up doing much of Sauron's work for him, ironically because he thinks it's better to join with the Enemy than to oppose him. Tony Blair, in some ways, represents this turncoat figure, who once sought Clinton's help but who has shackled England's forturnes to ours in order to make an alliance with Bush.
Grima Wormtongue, that dastard who whispers poison into the ears of the Rohan king, is representative of the Neo-cons, masterminds of the failed war in Iraq. As for King Theoden of Rohan, a man at first bewitched by Saruman's henchman, he could best be seen as a stand-in for the Democratic party, which quailed against the Bush Administration's predations for so much of this term of office: refusing to fight harder in the 2000 recount, for example, or rubber-stamping the war and the USA-Patriot Act without bothering to even read it.
Gandalf is the undying spirit of democracy, who returns from a pitched battle against a demonic Bal-rog of fear, paranoia, and greed, to lead the truest forces of freedom---free peoples here and in other countries---to victory. If he is an individual, he might best be compared with...the Big Dog himself, Bill Clinton, the Comeback Kid, who bounced back from scandal and illness to help us "at the turning of the tide" once more.
Gondor and Rohan are the human kingdoms imperiled most by Sauron. Rohan is a more rugged community, closer to the land; think of Rohan as Old Europe, shuddering at the notion of fighting a hopeless battle with evil at the urging of its imperiled neighbor. Gondor stands for America---a majestic, military force led by a hollow man, whose entire role is merely a pretense of authority.
Gondor's leader by Denethor: a weak, embittered, fearful Steward---a custodial figure, whose job it is to conduct the city's business. Because no king has reigned in Gondor since Isildur's death, thousands of years earlier, his is mostly a symbolic rule, designed to hold the place together until the True King of Gondor can be found. He dreads this figure's appearance on the scene nearly as much as he fears subjugation by Sauron. Naturally, I see George W. Bush playing this part in the analogy.
Denethor's sons pursue very different paths to glory, one of which proves fatal. Boromir tries to seize the Ring from its guardian, Frodo; this moment of madness passes, long enough for Frodo to escape. Boromir ultimately dies trying to defend Frodo's chums, Merry and Pippin, from an onslaught of Orcs. Boromir could be read as a symbol for Rumsfeld and his top military chiefs, who thought this war could be won by swift, unthinking force, with no thought given to the long-range hazards. The surviving son of Denethor is Faramir, who nearly falls victim to the same fate as did his brother, before he turns away in time; Faramir could be seen as the United Nations, which reluctantly followed the U.S. into Iraq, but which clamored for a different course of action throughout.
Elves are mankind's oldest and most loyal allies, but they are leaving us because they fear their time is over in Middle-earth. Elves could best be thought of as the artists, writers, journalists, and creative thinkers of our society: the musicians who toured for Kerry, for instance. Dwarves, on the other hand, never much participated in the affairs of men, preferring their subterranean households. The Dwarves are the union members and various working men and women, who don't speak up enough because they don't always know that they can, but when they do, theirs is a mighty roar indeed.
The Ents, of talking tree-herders, are such an obvious symbol for environmentalists that it hardly seems necessary to point that out here.
We are the hobbits, each and every one of us, the voter-citizens, who can't do much more than the right thing at the right time, for not much more than the knowledge that they have acted, i.e., voted, with their consciences. And because Aragorn says "you bow to no one" to Frodo and his friends, so, too, should President Kerry likewise salure those who have helped to anoint him---each one of us. While we vote, while we blog, while we debate, we are taking the Ring to Mount Doom to destroy, once and for all, Sauron's ability to use it against us.
Of course, a True King does appear, in the form of "a Ranger from the North" who has lived amongst Elves and fought alongside them, and learned many languages and customs and other lores to help him in his quest to fulfill his destiny. Of course, this is John Forbes Kerry; he is a Vietnam War veteran, well-traveled and conversant in several languages, who hails from Massachusetts---surely, a chilly Northeastern state. Aragorn was raised away from his eventual throne in Gondor, under a different name; Kerry, who also changed his name, was born in Colorado. (Ironically, this makes Teresa Heinz Kerry a fit for Aragorn's queen, the otherworldly Elven maiden Arwen Evenstar; Teresa was born in Mozambique and is, indeed, otherworldly by the standards of many Americans.)
This leaves us with Gollum. Who might that be? Consider a figure who craves, covets, desires to possess his Precious, AKA the One Ring, so much that he simply cannot abide by any other course of action but to pursue it, take it by force if necessary, and lie, cheat, steal, even kill to obtain it. Does anyone else mentally see Dick Cheney while reading this passage?
Today, tonight, and after this historic day, Aragorn/Kerry will lead the free peoples/voters of Middle-earth/America to the Black Gate of Sauron, i.e., the voting booths. And, like Aragorn, John Kerry, too, will come to his rightful throne. Ironically, by deposing the stand-in Denethor, Kerry will be reversing the procession of power depicted by Tolkien: a Steward of democracy will replace a Usurper-King.