Tech Right's Lord of the Rings Obsession: A Misguided Quest

In a bizarre spectacle that has left many in the literary world scratching their heads, a segment of the tech right and conservative ruling class has become fixated on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, but their understanding of the classic fantasy novel is as murky as the treacherous waters of the Anduin River. Despite the book's clear themes of the corrupting influence of power and the necessity of death, these self-proclaimed fans have managed to warp its message into a twisted justification for the concentration of power and the erosion of democratic institutions. For those who have spent years devouring Tolkien's Middle-earth, this phenomenon is nothing short of astonishing. The Lord of the Rings is a rich tapestry of myth and legend, woven from the threads of European folklore and Christian theology. At its heart lies a powerful exploration of the human condition, one that grapples with the very same questions that have haunted philosophers and theologians for centuries: the nature of good and evil, the corrupting influence of power, and the redemptive power of sacrifice. But for the tech right and conservative ruling class, The Lord of the Rings has become a kind of ideological Rorschach test, a blank slate onto which they project their own twisted fantasies. They see in the novel a justification for the concentration of power, a validation of the idea that the strong should rule and the weak should be subjugated. They point to the character of Aragorn, the noble and powerful king who leads the Free Peoples of Middle-earth to victory against the darkness of Sauron, as a model for their own vision of a strong and authoritarian leader. But this reading of The Lord of the Rings is a gross misinterpretation, one that ignores the novel's clear themes of the corrupting influence of power and the necessity of death. Tolkien was a devout Catholic, and his novel is infused with a deep sense of Christian theology. The Lord of the Rings is a story about the struggle between good and evil, but it is also a story about the redemptive power of sacrifice and the corrupting influence of power. As the scholar and Tolkien expert, Tom Shippey, notes, "Tolkien was a deeply conservative man, but he was also a deeply Christian man. And his novel is infused with a sense of Christian theology, one that emphasizes the importance of sacrifice and the corrupting influence of power." The tech right and conservative ruling class, on the other hand, seem to be operating on a completely different wavelength. They see in The Lord of the Rings a justification for their own vision of a strong and authoritarian leader, one who will impose order and discipline on a chaotic and unruly world. But this reading of the novel is a gross misinterpretation, one that ignores the clear themes of the corrupting influence of power and the necessity of death. As the novelist and critic, Ursula K. Le Guin, noted in her own critique of Tolkien's work, "Tolkien's world is a world of myth and legend, but it is also a world of darkness and shadow. The Lord of the Rings is a story about the struggle between good and evil, but it is also a story about the corrupting influence of power and the necessity of death." In the end, the tech right and conservative ruling class's misreading of The Lord of the Rings is a symptom of a deeper problem, one that speaks to the broader crisis of reading comprehension in our society. We live in a world where the boundaries between fact and fiction are increasingly blurred, where the lines between reality and fantasy are constantly shifting. And in this world, it is easier than ever to project our own twisted fantasies onto the objects of our desire, whether they be novels, movies, or memes. But as the scholar and literary critic, Terry Eagleton, notes, "The task of the critic is not to impose our own meanings onto the text, but to uncover the meanings that are already there. And in the case of The Lord of the Rings, the meaning is clear: the corrupting influence of power and the necessity of death." As we move forward into a world that is increasingly uncertain and unpredictable, it is more important than ever that we learn to read the texts of our time with a critical and nuanced eye. We must be willing to challenge our own assumptions and biases, to question our own readings of the world. And we must be willing to listen to the voices of others, to engage in a dialogue that is open and honest and respectful. For in the end, it is not the tech right and conservative ruling class who will save us from the darkness of Sauron, but rather the scholars and critics and readers who are willing to engage with the texts of our time in a deep and meaningful way.