One of the great insights of Tolkien in the "Lord of the Rings" triology is that those who are corrupted by their thirst for power and desire to re-make the world in their own image cannot understand the motives and actions of those who aren't. They misunderstand and misinterpret what's going on, because it is beyond their self-limited way of interacting with the world. They can't foresee the way that others who aren't similarly corrupted will act, and are baffled when they do things that would never enter their own minds.
On which note, the above link is to the Guardian's editorial on the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Sauron is apparently alive and well, and drawing his salary these days from that particular periodical.
