Heroism, Politics, and Middle Earth

(Updated and expanded from an earlier essay)

By Robert Farrow

White House Postponing Loss of Iraq, Biden Says

“I have reached the tentative conclusion that a significant portion of this administration, maybe even including the vice president, believes Iraq is lost,” Biden said. “They have no answer to deal with how badly they have screwed it up. I am not being facetious now. Therefore, the best thing to do is keep it from totally collapsing on your watch and hand it off to the next guy — literally, not figuratively.” Joseph Biden

Saying the “idea that we’re going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong,” Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean predicted that the Democratic Party will come together on a proposal to withdraw National Guard and Reserve troops immediately, and all US forces within two years.

No, we cannot win, but we will meet them in battle nevertheless. Theoden.

It is difficult to think of a less heroic name then Taffy 3. This battle, however almost rivals Thermopylae or the epic of the 7th Brigade in the 73 war in an example of a classic fight against overwhelming odds. On October 25th, 1944, The U.S.naval task force Taffy 3 was surprised by a Japanese surface force of 11 destroyers, 2 light and 6 heavy cruisers and 4 battleships (including the Yamato, the largest battleship in existence), under the command of Admiral Takeo Kurita, which had broken through the American line. The only thing in the way of Japanese’s intended goal, the troop ships landing US troops on the Phillipines; were the unlucky, outgunned, and outnumbered Taffy 3 task force. The American forces were only composed of 6 escort carriers, escorted by a light destroyer force of 3 destroyers and 4 destroyer escorts. The carriers were called jeep carriers, and they were armed to support ground operations and anti-submarine warfare. The destroyers had 5 inch guns (against the Yamato’s 18 inch) and were so thinly armored they were called tin cans. The Yamato herself outweighed all the destroyers and escorts, and almost the whole force by herself.

Amazingly, one destroyer and destroyer escort turned to take on the battleships head on. Aboard the destroyer escort Samuel Roberts, Lt. Cmdr. Robert W. Copeland told his crew: “This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. The Johnston, under Cdr. E.Evans, fought until she was destroyed, as well as the Samuel Roberts, but their sacrifice, and the fighting spirit of the task force as a whole, convinced Kurita he was fighting the main US force, and he surprisingly turned his ships around.

Together, through the ages of the world, we have fought the long defeat. Galadriel

So, what does Taffy 3 or a fictional fantasy novel have to do with modern politic? The answer is more then you might think. For our views on heroism, warfare, and defeat profoundly affect our survivability and the strength of our culture. And as much fiction is allegory, I will use the Lord of the Rings as such, despite Tolkein’s aversion to such use. The heroic battle against overwhelming odds is a theme found primarily in pagan cultures. J.R.R. Tolkein, the famous author of Lord of the Rings, often borrowed these themes in the heroic battles in his trilogy. Sadly, these themes of Tolkein are often absent from present day society. They, however, seem to have been replaced by an opposing strategy: win quick, with few losses, or give up and admit defeat. The consequences for this strategy could not be more grave, as I will labor to explain.

Since my first reading when I was 17, I have loved J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. Through changing times, different beliefs and political views, I have always managed to get something different out of it. Recently, as I became more conservative, I was amused to see that a book by a conservative and Catholic veteran was adopted by the left. Perhaps this is a mark of a classic, but today, I find some striking parallels between the book and current events. (For those not familiar with Tolkein, I strongly recommend buying the book or the film, for you will be treated to a literary and cinematic masterpiece, and you will also understand what I am talking about. But if alas, fantasy does not move you, read on, and you should still get something out of this.)

In the third age, Tolkein’s Middle Earth is again beset by war, as the great enemy once again seeks to bring all under his dominion. Troubles are multiplied by treason, defeatism, and those seeking to capitalize on the war for political gain. First of all, men are divided, as the Easterlings, Haradram, the Corsairs, and wild men, fight against the free races of man and actually aid their enslavers. Many of the leaders of the free folk suffer from defeatism, most notably Denethor, who tells his army to flee believing “you may triumph on the field of battle for a day, but against the power that arises in the East, there is no hope of victory.” Even those sent to aid in the fight turn against them, as Sauraman tells Gandalf, “Against the power of Mordor, there can be no victory!” The thing is, had free men fought for what was best for them and stood as one against the threat from the East, Sauron would have stood little chance. And that is also the way it is in the real world, especially in modern times.

“The idea that we’re going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong,” does not sound at all out place from an enemy in Middle Earth. As Aragon said in the film, Open war is upon us, whether we wish it or not. We are in a war that has been coming for a long time, a war that pits freedom and democracy against fundamentalist dictatorships and oppression, a war that will decide the winner in this clash of cultures and for a large part determine the direction of our species. This war did not began with Iraq of Afghanistan, as many has claimed, but predates the Beruit bombing of the early 80’s and perhaps even earlier (as earlier as the 6th century), depending how one interprets history. And ignoring Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and their ilk, as Clinton did, only emboldens them. We cannot hide from them, for as Eowyn learned, people without swords will still die upon them. I grew up in the city, where getting jumped was common, and the kids around me, especially the bullies, only respected strength. It is the same with the aggressors of the world. Appeasement only encourages the enemy, and peace at any price will wind up paying the ultimate price. As Tolstoy said, “You may not be interested in war, but war is very much interested in you.”

All people deserve freedom and democracy. It should be considered a fundamental human right. Democracy also creates peace and prosperity for it’s citizens, and democracies are much less likely to fight each other. Non-democracies are more likely to be impoverished, and thus fertile ground for hate and oppression. It is not by accident that the GNP of the Middle East, the hotbed of terrorism, (minus its oil exports) is no bigger then any of the smaller countries of Europe.Those that refuse to fight and even worse, disparage those who fight, as in the book, aid the enemy. The Democratic party, the party that defeated Fascism and stood up to Communism has become the party of Sauraman, of Denethor, the party of defeat and surrender. This was not the way of Roosevelt, of Truman, but it is the way of Dean, of Pelosi, and of Kerry. Kerry said recently that ‘U.S. soldiers terrorize kids. ‘ It is not the US soldiers that decapitate prisoners. It is not US soldiers that killed a million Kurds, Iranians, and Shiites. It is the US soldiers fighting for democracy, for religious freedom, for the same rights that the Democrats currently enjoy but don’t think anyone else deserves. Wormtongue would have been proud.

When I was young I was a liberal who hated the military and all it stood for. My family tried to get me in the military when I was 18 and I refused. The reason why I blog, why I give up my own time and money and get called names because of my stand on issues by those who don’t back up their condemnations with facts, is to right the wrongs I made in my youth. I cannot change my mistakes, but I can try to keep others from making the same mistakes I made. This is a fight for Democracy, for freedom of religion, for the survival of the west. It will not end with victory in Iraq, or (as the Democrats want) if we withdraw from Iraq in defeat now. But a defeat in Iraq will embolden the enemy and make the fight that we must face much, much worse. It is a sin to despair, as only God could possibly know for certain  the outcome of an event. This embrace of defeat  is the reason I can no longer support the party of my youth.

We should fight this fight regardless of whether it is easy or if it is hard. We should fight because we are fighting for democracy, woman’s rights, for freedom of speech, and for freedom of religion. We should fight whether we think we can win or lose simply because it is the right thing to do. Like a bully on a playground, history has shown weakness only invites further aggression. This is why our culture matters. This is why our views on defeat matters. This is why our views on warfare and heroism matters. In the end our society lives and dies by the strength of it’s culture. In Tolkein’s book, the good guys won, despite the defeatism and treason. Aragon did not have a liberal press that lied and twisted everything he said. When he met the chief liar in Jackson’s movie, the Mouth of Sauron, he decapitated him. We have no such options. (… it is the terrorists who act as such, not us. ) But we are in our own struggle against the darkness in the East. We have our own leaders who seem unable “to recognize friend from foe.” The battle will be epic, will be costly, and the outcome is still very much in doubt. Our own middle earth hangs in the balance, for the final chapters in our book have not yet been written. However, no matter how it ends, one thing is sure. As Sam said to close The Two Towers…..

There is some good in this world, and it is worth fighting for.