Irrationalism in 'Rings'? So sayeth he...

[Bill Ferny]

The only point made here was the stupidity of the author.

At the beginning the climactic battle scene, a good king declares, in resident cadences, "If this is to be our end, then I would hope to make an end that is to be worthy of remembrance." To which a heroic warrior responds, "Your men will follow you to whatever end."

Hint: If you don’t know the names of the characters, it might be a good indication that you haven’t done enough research.

The historically minded will remember that the Natzis loved this mythology. The whole of teh Third Reich was awash in runes, lightning bolts and Valkyries riding. Yet Adolph Hitler discredited these sagas when he went off to his own 'Gotterdammerung' in 1945.

How can one seriously reduce Tolkien to the Sturm und Drang movement? Only someone who knows nothing more than surface appearance could make such a connection. The Nazis were hardly the lawful heirs of the Sturm und Drang movement, anyway. Geothe was not a seminal Nazi.

--"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers"--on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, in 1415, as imagined by Shakespeare? Never mind that the real Agincourt was just another bloody battle between dynasties that solved nothing. The Bard's words have such poetic potency that they became the title of a best-seller and then an HBO miniseries lionizing American soldiers in World War II.

Solved nothing? Depends on what you mean by solved, but the battle of Agincourt was a very import turning point in the Hundred Years War. Anyone who has read Band of Brothers (the author recently passed away) knows that it is hardly a lionization of soldiers, but a portrait of real young men, their fears, horrors, foibles, sufferings and triumphs. Nothing in that book glorified war, but I doubt if Mr. Pinkerton even read it, otherwise, he wouldn’t attempt such a disrespectful and ignorant comment.

Since when is security (a condition) and multilateralism (another condition neither good or bad per se) virtues? No, things like justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude are virtues.

I find it hard to connect any irrationalism (which, like multilateralism, is not a real word in the English language) outlined in the column with LotR. Mr. Pinkerton obviously sees many irrational things in the world, but never once does he pin point any irrational tendencies in LotR save only a meager, appearances only, similarity to the Sturm und Drang movement and an assumed Nazi connection.

Nenya is, of course, right. Mr. Pinkerton is an ugly American.