We’ve Heard This Tune Once Too Often

Despite (or, more likely, because of) its being one of the biggest-selling fiction books in history, literary types have an almost reflexive aversion to The Lord of the Rings. Few of their criticisms make sense, but one of the most perplexing is that it is “simplistic” in its treatment of good and evil.

Such criticism began as soon as its first volume was published. Yet, as Tolkien’s friend, C. S. Lewis, pointed out, given that the first volume climaxes with one of the heroes struggling with the good and evil within himself, this criticism makes no sense. Even of the book’s titular Great Enemy, the text says, “Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.” Tolkien elaborates elsewhere, Sauron fell into evil for reasons that seemed good to him: mostly the desire to impose order (a very modern evil, countering another common criticism, that Tolkien is “escapist”).

But this desire to see the enemy as altogether evil, doing evil for no real reason is a common conceit. One that is rearing its ugly head again as the propaganda drums pound on and on about the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is “evil”, a “madman”. His clearly enunciated war goals (whether or not you believe them, or believe them to be just) are dismissed out of hand.

We’ve heard this narrative, again and again, throughout recent history. Always whenever the Masters of War want to herd us off like sheep to another war.

A recurring theme in the American telling of history is that the bad guys do bad things for no reason at all. The general plot is that things were going along just fine and then all of a sudden, for no reason at all, the bad guys started doing bad things. Inevitably, the good guys, which will always be the Americans, were forced to break away from minding their own business to save the world from badness […]

The important elements of the story are always the same. America is the innocent bystander, doing its best to mind its own business. The villain is not just the aggressor, but they have no justification for their actions. Whatever reasons they have are dismissed as irrational or evil. The final element is that America must reluctantly swing into action to save the world from the bad guys.

This is not just victors writing history to suit themselves (US Air Force General Curtis LeMay said that, had they lost the War, he fully expected to face war crimes charges), but a prior justification for people looking to start a fight in the future. The “Bush Doctrine” argued for “pre-emptive war”.

American must reluctantly attack some country, in order to avoid being forced to do it later.

Of course, acknowledging that someone did something bad for a reason doesn’t make doing bad things right. A pre-emptive strike might be justified if it stops even worse conflict down the line: but how did that argument hold out, after 20 years of war?

Acknowledging the bad guys’ motives can also be a prophylaxis against being dragged into fights that are better avoided.

Now we are seeing the same arguments with regards to Ukraine. America is being dragged into this conflict against its will because Russia, for no reason at all, has invaded the sacred lands of Ukraine. Members of Congress are being marched out in front of the cameras by their neocon handlers to tell us that we have no choice but to risk nuclear annihilation over Ukraine.

Of course, there is never any mention of the endless meddling by Washington or the meddling in other former Soviet republics on the Russian border. According to the myth, America has been minding its own business and for no reason at all the Russians launched this bloody war against innocent civilians. Even if they have a reason, it is Russian disinformation and only Putin puppets believe it.

Without a doubt, the American media is banging the war drum for all they’re worth. Social media is suppressing dissent and everything is turning into a sea of yellow and blue, and “Keev” is the new buzzword.

But a funny thing is happening on the way to the war. Americans, perhaps wary after two decades of their children coming home as shellshocked amputees, are turning a bit leery of doing it all again so soon.

Most Americans are willing to accept Ukraine as the victim and Russia as the aggressor, but they draw the line at acting on it. Even the mouth breathers who consume conservative talk radio have started to question the flag-waving.

Takimag

A common complaint of the legacy media in the Trump era was “a return to isolationism”. In fact, Trump was clear that he was not averse to using American power. He just wasn’t so keen on America being expected to be the world’s nanny (and getting precious little thanks for it).

In the end, it may well be the globalists themselves, with their thirst for endless war (fought by other peoples’ children, of course), who do the most to drive America back in on itself.