Ye gods!
I e-mailed out a funny link this morning to my fellow local Canadian LOTR fans, and this is what one of them e-mailed back to me:
“Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to
whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed
a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it
narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a
fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed,
the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry.
Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism,
will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so.
How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar.”
— Julius Caesar
Brrr. I think I’m going to go make scones and pretend that my day is all sunshine and lollipops, thanks.