Jimmy Carter on the Lord of the Rings:
“For three hours in this latest installment of ‘Lord of the Rings,’ young people the world over watch my work in the United States and your work here in Europe — to get nations to disarm, not to make moral judgments about any nation other than America or Israel — undone.
“We who love peace,” the Nobel Peace Prize laureate continued, “have to initiate a campaign to jolt people back to our view of the world. Let’s be clear about the dangers. What if young people start identifying George W. Bush with Aragorn or Gandalf, and Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden with Saruman? Even worse, impressionable moviegoers might identify the American war against Iraq and so-called ‘Islamic terror’ with the war against the Orcs and Mordor.
“Who knows what might happen if enough young people start thinking that war is an option, or that some people or countries can be labeled ‘evil,’ or that there is something noble about a soldier who kills for a ‘just’ cause?”
The former president continued, “I hope that the European community, enlightened Democrats and progressives in America begin to realize the potential consequences of this film. There may even be a demand among American college students to allow the return of ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) recruiters to campuses. People might start regarding war as an option.
“When I saw the audience in the movie theater cheer when Orcs were killed, I shuddered,” Mr. Carter said, visibly pained. “The message of ‘Lord of the Rings’ is just plain bad….”
There’s more…
UPDATE! I’m an idjit! Like five emailers sent me this with excerpts. I read a ways into and then posted. I didn’t read the last line. It is a parody! D’oh! My bad, my apologies.