[Diamond18]

Mr. Pinkerton, like others, takes an anti-war stance too far. The whole article was bent on trvializing LotR as a jingoist-moot. Granted, it was talking about the movie, but if you know anything at all about the books you know about Faramir's opinions on war (which are also Tolkien's). Hardly jingoism. But when you must fight a war, you must have a reason to keep yourself going. You must have some motivation. Otherwise you become like Denethor. Just like King Théoden said in the very quote Mr. Pinkerton included: If we must fight for our exisistence, let's do it for pete's sake! That is what LotR is about, moreso than glorifying war as an ideal state of exisistence.

The book has nothing at all to do with America, nothing at all to do with Iraq, nothing at all to do with Al'Quiada. Why try to make it so? And like someone else said, the movie, too, was practically finished by the time of 9/11. As an American, I am just plain sick of people trying to parallel the two. If it were a parallel, I wouldn't enjoy it. Not the least bit. I hate everything about the situation our world is in today. There is nothing the U.S.A can do that is right. Anyone who thinks that is fooling themselves. We're living in a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of world, and I hate it. Forgive the pessimism, but when you're reminded every time you turn on the TV or log onto the internet that people hate you and that the world would be a better place without you, it gets rather depressing.

In LotR at least good and evil and the right path are clear. The good guys never doubt that they're good guys, and the bad guys are really truely bad throughout. Mr. Pinkerton seems to think this a bad thing—I need this sort of entertainment to keep me sane. And it is just entertainment. When you try to say it's a parallel for our situation, you're forgetting it's entertainment: and in that case you might as well just turn on the news and forget about reading books or watching movies.