Simon Rorschach draws on The Lord of the Rings to examine how the war on terror hastened America’s decline.
Twenty-five years ago, al-Qaeda terrorists seized four passenger aircraft and turned them into weapons. Two struck the World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people died. Their deaths became the justification for wars that crossed continents and outlasted the governments that launched them. In The Lord of the Rings, Sauron’s rise confronts his enemies with a temptation: to seek so much power that nothing can threaten them again. When Frodo offers Gandalf the Ring at Bag End, the wizard refuses because he knows that his wish to protect others could become an excuse to rule them. Washington took the opposite course after September 11. It claimed the right to pursue enemies wherever it chose, occupy foreign countries, and set aside restraints whenever they obstructed its aims. The promise of safety became a demand for obedience.
The history behind the attacks began long before the towers fell.
