I wish it need not have happened in my lifetime. . .
The Most Important ELECTION of our Lifetime!
We invite Jacob of the podcast Socialist Shelf to discuss The Lord of the Rings, analyzing its morality and politics rife with complexities and contradictions. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Tolkien showed us a masterclass in worldbuilding, and you know who else built a world?*
That’s right, The Founding Fathers!.
“No matter how long the line is”: Things may seem hopeless with no signs of Eagles on the Horizon. One does not simply walk into Mordor, but if you are in line to throw a Ring into a Volcano STAY IN LINE
“Is America ready for a Hobbit president?” The lack of democracy in Middle-earth and Tolkien’s own flavor Anarcho-Feudalism aside; Do the American people really want a Universal Second Breakfast Program? Yes, yes they do.
“No way Boromir has ever done his own laundy if you know what I’m saying”: Look, if you drop The Fellowship into the American Revolution there’s some questions that need to be answered. Uncomfortable questions. Like REALLY Uncomfortable Questions.
“Benjamin Franklin never saw a riot he didn’t like.”: What American revolutionary do you want to die beside at Helm’s Deep? Who get’s a higher Orc count, George Washington or Aaron Burr? Most importantly, will they hold things down until The Wizard Benjamin Franklin arrives with the French to the rescue at dawn on the fifth day?
From the Golden Hall of Rohan to the halls of power in America, thank you for voting with your time. Wherever podcasts are found.
00:00 The Call to Vote
02:24 Engaging Voters with Jacob
04:20 Tolkien’s Influence and Legacy
10:30 Ecological and Political Themes in Middle Earth
18:01 Contradictions of the Founding Fathers
25:01 Social Structures in Middle Earth
31:01 The Fellowship’s Political Activism
37:01 The Fellowship in Revolutionary Warfare
43:01 Leadership in a Post-Revolutionary America
49:01 Founding Fathers in Middle Earth
56:01 Resisting the One Ring
01:00:01 Final Thoughts and Farewell
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