Forgive me everyone, but I am going to 'nerd out' for a little bit here. Rachel Maddow has said something even stupider than usual and, this time, I am not going to let it go. (I just wanted to let you know in advance, but hopefully, you will keep reading anyway.)
I will start by saying that I have loved J.R.R. Tolkien since I was old enough to read. I first read The Hobbit when I was five years old. The next year, I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time. I was so hooked, I proceeded to read it again at least once a year for the next 25 years of my life, just like Christopher Lee did (that is a true story). Not a year went by that I didn't learn something new. After that, re-readings grew less frequent, mainly because I wanted to read Tolkien's other books as well as books written about him.
To this day, there is not a week of my life when I don't find some lesson from Tolkien's writings that I can apply to life. Because Tolkien wasn't writing 'fantasy.' The Professor (as his adherents lovingly refer to him) wrote myth. And there is a difference. Through his mythmaking, Tolkien did not seek to create an alien world, but an analogous world to our own. He often recoiled when people tried to make direct parallels between The Lord of the Rings and World War II, but not because it was inappropriate. Rather, he objected because his legendarium was much bigger than that one conflict, as huge as it was. In his own words, he described his writing as his expression of his Christian and Catholic faith. And he never shied away from those comparisons. I know that my own faith has been enriched by reading his work and I am grateful for it.
All of this is to say that when someone comes after The Professor -- especially in a craven and ignorant way -- I take it more than a little personally. I respond with anger and disgust, similar to Treebeard's reaction when someone mentions the words 'orc' or 'axe.'
Speaking of craven and ignorant, this is where Rachel Maddow comes into my story.
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Earlier this week, Maddow was grasping at straws to criticize the Republican vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance. Many of the left's attacks on Vance have been pretty desperate, but this one took the cake. Like his mentor, Peter Thiel, Vance loves Tolkien and named his venture capital company Narya, a legendary name among Middle-Earth aficionados.
For Maddow, this (of course) was a dog whistle for 'far-right extremism' and 'white supremacy.' Watch:
Rachel Maddow claims Lord of the Rings is a 'favorite' for 'far right' figures:
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) July 18, 2024
"Lord of the Rings is sort of a favorite cosmos for naming things, and cultural references, for a lot of far right figures and alt-right figures both in Europe and the United States.
Mr. Vance when he… pic.twitter.com/hFagDgURNS
Yes, Rachel. It has 'something to do with Elves.' You moron.
Hey, it's perfectly fine if Maddow is not a Tolkien expert. But even her leftie buddy Stephen Colbert (who is a Tolkien expert) could have told her how stupid this take was.
Let's start with the name, Narya. Yes, this is one of three Elven rings, along with Nenya and Vilya, that Celebrimbor (he was an Elf too, Rachel) crafted to combat Sauron and the One Ring. But the name 'Narya' is not some white supremacist code word.
Because Tolkien was a linguist and had more talent in one fingernail than Maddow does in her whole body, he created complete Elvish languages and partial languages of other Middle-Earth races. One of those Elvish languages was Quenya. The name Narya is from that language and it means 'fiery red.'
A simple Google search could have told Maddow this.
A Google search also would have told her everything about the ring and the reason Vance chose it as the name for his venture capital company. It didn't have anything to do with 'Aryan' or 'right-wing extremism.'
Like all of the Elven rings, Narya was imbued with magical powers. Chief among them was the power to inspire others to resist tyranny and despair. This is why the ring was given to Gandalf in secret as he began his mission to defeat Sauron. It also had the power to resist weariness, which kind of comes in handy for Gandalf and his companions in their quest.
When you read The Lord of The Rings for the first time, no one knows that Gandalf carries this ring. He reveals it only at the very end. But upon re-readings, it makes sense as we see Gandalf's ability to rally everyone around him to fight, and to galvanize even small, humble Hobbits to take on monumental, seemingly insurmountable challenges.
In one of the most memorable scenes in The Lord of the Rings movies, Gandalf is even able to face down a Balrog because he is a 'wielder of The Flame of Anor,' which is clearly a reference to the ring he secretly carries.
Is it any surprise now, Rachel, why Vance may have been inspired by the name Narya? Maybe it meant something more to him than your silly little 'Aryan' wordplay.
But beyond the lore of Narya itself, what Maddow's comments reveal is that she does not understand Tolkien in the least.
Again, that is fine on its own. But it was her choice to bring it up on her show. And if she is going to do that, then she should know what she is talking about.
She did not. But one person on Twitter, the great Middle-earth Mixer account, was happy to set her straight.
This is evil to be sure. To get on national television and suggest that something Tolkien wrote was a “wink wink nudge nudge” to a concept he hated in his life when you know nothing about him is evil. Not incompetence.
— The Middle-earth Mixer (@MiddleearthMixr) July 18, 2024
Rachel Maddow is smart enough to know this. Vile behavior https://t.co/VLGnUWcivR
We won't comment on Maddow's intelligence or lack thereof, but let's get one thing perfectly straight here. Tolkien abhorred anything resembling fascism or racism. As I said before, while The Lord of the Rings is not an allegory for World War II, as a World War I veteran, Tolkien decried everything about Nazi Germany. And his son Christopher was an RAF pilot in World War II, so he was personally invested in the conflict.
What's more, everything about his legendarium is anathema to racism, no matter what modern deconstructionists might say. Some of his greatest heroic couples -- Beren and Lúthien, Aragorn and Arwen, even Faramir and Éowyn to a lesser extent -- are the result of the marrying of different races.
It was Sauron (and Morgoth before him) who sowed discord between races. According to the Sylvan Elf Haldir, 'In nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all those who oppose him.'
Maddow probably doesn't know any of this. Ironically, however, she also doesn't realize that, through her ignorance, she is the one who is sowing discord. This led to a couple of hilarious responses on Twitter, comparing her to one of Tolkien's most terrifying human characters:
I wouldent expect the Mouth Of Sauron to understand cultural references the good people of Gondor, Rohan and The Shire make either. pic.twitter.com/I4nIUwKoKy
— Michael Scaglione (@Scagz89) July 18, 2024
"All is fair in the pursuit of power."
— Sentinel3RA (@Sentinel_VA) July 18, 2024
Now you know why Aragorn took this guy's head. pic.twitter.com/ZCZMlaydlK
The Mouth of Sauron is an apt comparison.
Ultimately, Maddow's characterization of Tolkien as 'far right' is a condemnation of the left in general, and her in particular.
First, LOTR is hardly a dog whistle. It has very clearly and loudly defined morality.
— Steel Age Savage (@steelagesavage) July 18, 2024
Second, it is right wing. Because decency is now right wing.
Maybe that is why they hate it so much. We saw it last night at the Republican National Convention, when Tucker Carlson said, 'God is among us. And I think that is enough.'
Tucker Carlson finishes his RNC speech with a nod to his faith:
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) July 19, 2024
“God is among us. And I think that’s enough.” pic.twitter.com/aTu7TxWQpm
The response to that one line from the left was nothing short of rage. They called it 'Christian Nationalism' and (we love this one) 'Christofascism.' In point of fact, all Carlson was stating was a simple faith and a basic morality.
And that same faith and morality runs throughout not just The Lord of the Rings, but all of Tolkien's tales about Arda and Middle-Earth. In The Silmarillion, the one true God, Eru Ilúvatar, does not mingle with 'the Children of Ilúvatar' (Elves and Men), but his angels do. The archangels (the Valar) and lower angels (the Maiar, like Gandalf) are interwoven in all of the stories. And, just like in Christian myth, the most evil of Eru's creations, Morgoth and Sauron, are former, fallen Valar and Maia, respectively. The entire origin of Morgoth (a.k.a. Melkor) is encompassed in one theme: discord.
Finally, in Tolkien's own words, The Lord of the Rings, while not 'far-right' by any stretch, is a Christian myth. In an interview in the late 1960s, Tolkien was asked why God was not more present in his trilogy. He laughingly responded:
'Of course God is in The Lord of the Rings. The period was pre-Christian, but it was a monotheistic world. The book is about the world that God created -- the actual world of this planet.'
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Telegraph, 1968
I would love to write more about the aspects of The Lord of the Rings that make it a Christian passion play (with the true hero not being Gandalf, Aragorn, or even Frodo, but Samwise Gamgee, for his humility and undying loyalty), but maybe we can save that for another time.
For now, maybe the most revealing thing in Maddow's snide commentary about J.D. Vance and his company Narya -- other than her ignorance of Tolkien's mythology -- is her revelation of why she has such mocking disdain for The Lord of the Rings.
In one of the most brilliant books about Tolkien and his creation, J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-Earth by historian Bradley Birzer, Catholic scholar Joseph Pearce summarizes how the left feels about Tolkien in a scathing Forward:
The phenomenal popularity of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings continues to be greeted with anger and contempt by many self-styled literary 'experts.' Rarely has a book caused such controversy and rarely has the vitriol of the critics highlighted to such and etent the cultural schism between the cliquish literary illuminati and the views of the reading public.
It is perhaps noteworthy that most of the self-styled 'experts' amongst the literati who have queued up to sneer contemptuously at The Lord of the Rings are outspoken champions of cultural deconstruction and moral relativism ... Indeed, their antagonism could be linked to the fact that Tolkien's myth is enriched throughout with inklings of the truth of Catholic faith.
Go back and watch the video at the beginning of this article. Sneering contemptuously? Check. Cultural deconstruction? Check. Moral relativism? Check. Antagonism toward even an inkling of Christianity? Check.
Pearce wrote that forward in 2002, but it is entirely indicative of Maddow and many of the left today in 2024.
Many on Twitter made comparisons between Maddow and Tolkien characters outside of The Mouth of Sauron. People called her a Nazgûl and a 'spawn of Ungoliant' (we love that one). Even Elon Musk mocked her with a simple laugh emoji.
But I think this user summed her up perfectly:
She is the embodiment of Grima Wormtongue.
— Viridis Lanterna (@viridislanterna) July 18, 2024
Gríma Wormtongue infected and poisoned King Théoden with whispered lies. While Maddow does not whisper (far from it, LOL), this seems to be her mission as well.
So I will dismiss her with the words of Gandalf, who similarly dismissed Gríma:
'The wise speak only of what they know, Gríma son of Gálmód. A witless worm have you become. Therefore be silent, and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a serving-man till the lightning falls.'
Yeah. Yeah, that'll work.
Maybe Maddow will think harder before daring to talk about Tolkien again, but I'm not counting on it.
