Cat vs. Man

       [All spoilers will be struck through like this so people who haven't read that far in the series can easily skip over them] I'm a big fan of a series called Warriors.  For those of you who don't know it, it's a book series written by Erin Hunter about cats who live in the wild, in fairly organized groups called Clans.  There are four, and the main one written about is Thunderclan, in the forest.  Anyway, I was recently rereading this series.  Rereading is great.  You notice things you never notice before.  You think, "Oh, man, some of these cats are being really stupid about (insert plot point here)." Then you realize - this is what human societies (*cough* 'Murica *cough*) do too.  All the time.  At one point the leader of Thunderclan is betrayed by her deputy, and after a series of misfortunes declares war on Starclan (the equivalent of Christian heaven).  Anyone remember the war on Christmas?  She, and the leader of another clan, both find remains of prey in their territories while it is already low, with clear evidence of a dog loose in the woods. Thunderclan's leader, in her fairly addled state at the time, completely ignores all contrary evidence and blames the other clan, nearly starting a battle.  That seems somehow familiar... and human government people aren't even confused and despondent after a recent betrayal when we get into an unnecessary war after blames based on incomplete and circumstantial evidence. And when one cat falls in love with a cat from another clan, eventually joining that clan?  He almost immediately is shunned by both. It may not be as evident now, but that would have probably happened in the human world between certain countries a few decades ago.
       And I'm only 5 books into the series.  There are 24 books total, and clans are kicked out, there's migration, tons and tons of territory disputes, cats who stop believing (or never started) in Starclan, and more outside threats that get blamed on other clans.  Every challenge, tribulation, and even some traditions can be compared to American society.
       I'm definitely not complaining about the stupidity of the characters, though.  This is an amazing series and I would definitely recommend it to fantasy fans of any age.