Of Rings and Power

One ring to rule them all,

One ring to find them,

One ring to bring them all,

and in the darkness, bind them

Over the course of the 2016 election, and since, we've seen some of the most vitriolic language and actions in recent memory. Many claim that we've never been as divided as we are now. Simply observing the election and post election reactions, it is not difficult to understand why people make this claim. Why have our once United States become so hateful towards each other? Sometimes to find the answers it is prudent to move beyond history, into the realm of literature. 

The One Ring, the highest of the Rings of Power, from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic series, The Lord of the Rings, shows us just how dangerous power is. Power is like a drug. Once taken, once held, it engenders the desire for more. Sauron uses the One Ring to expand his control beyond the borders of Morder. Using the One Ring, he exudes power over the bearers of the other nineteen rings of power. His search for power and control entrenched the Middle Earth into a time of darkness and war. 

The ring, however, does not just affect those who have evil intentions. Was Smeagol, who would become Gollum, inherently evil? Maybe he had evil in his heart, he murdered in order to gain possession of the ring. It is not possible to deny how much the ring changed him though. Frodo Baggins, the hero of the saga was most definitely not evil, yet the longer he held the ring the more it seemed to possess him, rather than the other direction. Indeed, even with the goal of its destruction and no desire to use its power, Frodo was corrupted.

The power of the ring did not just affect the bearers however. It was not just Frodo who would be corrupted by its power. Saruman the White was never close the Ring, but he was corrupted by the desire for power none-the-less. Boromir was corrupted and Aragorn felt its pull. Further, even those who showed no desire to participate in the war were pulled in. The Ents and the Shire both found their lives destroyed because of the quest for power. 

Today we see the same results of the movement of power. Politics today, in many ways, is nothing more than a sport: Team Red vs Team Blue, with only the occasional challenge from Team Green and Team Gold. We cheer on our team, sometimes watching the action on television, sometimes in person. We wear our team colors, we talk smack about our opponents. It's become a rivalry on par with the Chargers and Raiders. 

Or has it?

There is so much more to politics than Team Red vs Team Blue. It is about more than simply winning and losing. When the Raiders defeat the Chargers, as fans it's all about the bragging rights. Instead, winning in politics is more akin to the One Ring. Winning in politics is now about binding the other side to your will. In other words, it is about having the power to control the lives, actions and thoughts of one's political opponents. 

Oddly, it is not even about bearing that power physically. We don't have the opportunity as individuals to wear the One Ring and bear its power. Government and electing those who work in government is no longer about the business of the people. Though one could argue that it never was. Governing is about the ability to control others, most notably the other side. How intoxicating is it to be able to control not only the actions, but the thoughts of others? 

People cheer and celebrate their victories because they have a hand in establishing control over the behaviors of the other side. They lament, protest, and now riot when their side loses, because they no longer have the ability to control others through their proxies in Washington. 

Observing the behavior of Americas and their reactions to politics, the news on the television, the spread of falsehoods and rumors, and increasing use of violence to limit the speech of others proves just how far the American public has fallen under the spell of power. We don't bear the ring of power, very few of us ever will, but we are corrupted by its influence nonetheless. The argument of politics today s not over why the government has so much control over our lives, but who gets to wield the power. We cheer when it is our side expanding the ways government can control the lives of the people and we lament when it is the other side. 

Unlike the Ring which was destroyed by casting it into the fires of Mt. Doom, the allure of power over others is not so easy to destroy, because it resides in all our hearts.