Dear Editor,
I found Jon Kuhrt’s interpretation of C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle as a prophetic parable for contemporary geopolitics to be intriguing and compelling (en online, posted 17 April).
However, making such a direct parallel between the evil ape Shift and Donald Trump might miss the point. Personally I have no wish to defend Trump and am very nervous about his rule and its effects globally. But Kuhrt’s analogy, by focussing on one individual as explanation for all that’s wrong in the world, ignores other forces of deception and manipulation that control millions on the other side of the political spectrum.
Trump’s rise is partly, or even mainly, due to a popular reaction against “woke”, its embrace by the established churches, and its facilitation of the encroachment of radical Islam in Western societies. If you’re going to say that Trump is a “Shift” figure, then you need to also say that Mamdani, Sturgeon, Polanski and many others share the same traits.
We like to focus on a personality – perhaps Lewis would have wanted us to be just as aware of controlling, false and destructive ideologies (and spiritual powers behind them), even if their spokesmen don’t have the power of the US President?
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Symes
By email
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