RALEIGH – In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past few months – and if so, various members of the U.S. armed forces are probably looking for you – the first of three films based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy is being released this month.
I am not going to regale you with lengthy accounts of the books or their cultural influence. Far more knowledgeable people than I have been and will continue to do so. Moreover, as with writing on Star Trek or G.K. Chesterton, a halfhearted attempt to opine about an author like J.R.R. Tolkien will only get one into trouble. There is always someone out there who knows a lot more about the subject than you do – and is likely to prove it at the slightest opportunity.
But I did have a thought about the timing of the “Fellowship of the Ring,” the first part of the trilogy. It comes as the United States faces an evil adversary of worldwide power and influence. Like the dark forces led by Sauron on the book, Islamic terrorism respects no civilized bounds and is completely self-aware; it knows that it cannot stand the light of day and must prevail by fooling others into advancing its cause whether they realize it or not.
In the first book, Frodo the hobbit is charged with the task of destroying the Ring that his forebear Bilbo had “burgled” in a previous story, simply called The Hobbit. The Ring is the key to defeating Sauron and those who use other rings of power he has forged; its inscription reads: “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”
But Frodo is not charged with completing this task alone. A “Fellowship of the Ring” forms to include a wizard, an elf, a dwarf, two humans, and three other hobbits. Their adventures are colorful, spellbinding, and immensely entertaining. Yet at the end of the day, as some have fallen and others have gotten sidetracked, it is left to little Frodo and his loyal friend Sam to take the Ring to the towering volcano where it was forged, there to be destroyed.
My thought is simply this: right now, America enjoys the fellowship of other countries in its war against terrorism. But as the conflict escalates and expands, these allies may fall away, or in some cases be overthrown. Like Frodo and Sam, we may ultimately face alone a seemingly insurmountable challenge. One can only hope that we rise, like they, rise to the challenge and vanquish the evil that threatens us.