When I read The Lord of the Rings, this country was engaged in the Vietnam War. When I was attending grad school at the University of Wisconsin, National Guard troops remained on campus after the Chemistry Building suffered a bomb explosion. My bible was Tolkien's epic work. Sam was also my favorite hero (as George was my favorite Beatle). Sam was the "common man" thrust into battle because "The Cause" was greater than his own personal safety which he was well aware of. Evil men rely on fear because their "Cause" is themselves. When you fight for others, you give meaning to your own existence. Everyone must, at one time or another, weigh which is more important...what you have or who you strive to become.
thanks got writing and sharing your posts, I always find them interesting I never read Tolkien but I'll note in "1984" the villainous inner Party did not kill the protagonist, but broke his will so he ended up loving Big Brother after all.
I won't love Trump or give in to despair, my problem is anger at the voters who inflicted him on us, an anger I fear makes me less of a good person as I have trouble caring what happens to them. This includes the foolish "progressives" who didn't see the danger and abandoned Clinton in November 2016 and Harris last year.
"Whereas Theoden overcame his fear and led his men to victory, Big Law firms, elite universities, major media companies, and far too often the leadership of the ostensible opposition party have slunk away to hide in the hills or pulled a Saruman and outright joined the forces of darkness."
To extend your metaphor, Wormtongue is poisoning the brain of anyone who might try to resist by whispering one thing in their ear... "vibe shift". Trump's incredibly narrow victory has somehow been spun by NY/Washington elites as this massive cultural change that we must bow down to. It's data-free nonsense spewed by pundits, consultants, and party elites.
An absolute delight, though I was actually hoping he might analogize the people that decided to cozy up to the regime because it seemed like a better deal for them. In particular I think Saruman is like SCOTUS, seeing the darkness as a convenient path to their own ends. Maybe a Boromir analogy to people who want to sink to Trump’s level.
This makes me want to write an opinion piece from Wormtounge’s perspective as an anti-anti Sarumon guy. Antifa is the real problem!
When I read The Lord of the Rings, this country was engaged in the Vietnam War. When I was attending grad school at the University of Wisconsin, National Guard troops remained on campus after the Chemistry Building suffered a bomb explosion. My bible was Tolkien's epic work. Sam was also my favorite hero (as George was my favorite Beatle). Sam was the "common man" thrust into battle because "The Cause" was greater than his own personal safety which he was well aware of. Evil men rely on fear because their "Cause" is themselves. When you fight for others, you give meaning to your own existence. Everyone must, at one time or another, weigh which is more important...what you have or who you strive to become.
I make a point of doing some act of resistance to Trumpism every day
Perfect. Reminds me-- I may be due for a 6th reading...
thanks got writing and sharing your posts, I always find them interesting I never read Tolkien but I'll note in "1984" the villainous inner Party did not kill the protagonist, but broke his will so he ended up loving Big Brother after all.
I won't love Trump or give in to despair, my problem is anger at the voters who inflicted him on us, an anger I fear makes me less of a good person as I have trouble caring what happens to them. This includes the foolish "progressives" who didn't see the danger and abandoned Clinton in November 2016 and Harris last year.
The thing I hate most about the whole coming of this "era" is that it has made me hateful. Very.
This was excellent, Aaron. Thank you for bringing some light and motivation.
Thanks, Aaron. Here’s a good song … https://youtu.be/nTMLY2sCa9s
Just a fools hope
"Whereas Theoden overcame his fear and led his men to victory, Big Law firms, elite universities, major media companies, and far too often the leadership of the ostensible opposition party have slunk away to hide in the hills or pulled a Saruman and outright joined the forces of darkness."
To extend your metaphor, Wormtongue is poisoning the brain of anyone who might try to resist by whispering one thing in their ear... "vibe shift". Trump's incredibly narrow victory has somehow been spun by NY/Washington elites as this massive cultural change that we must bow down to. It's data-free nonsense spewed by pundits, consultants, and party elites.
Anyone who talks about "vibes" is full of feces.
An absolute delight, though I was actually hoping he might analogize the people that decided to cozy up to the regime because it seemed like a better deal for them. In particular I think Saruman is like SCOTUS, seeing the darkness as a convenient path to their own ends. Maybe a Boromir analogy to people who want to sink to Trump’s level.
This makes me want to write an opinion piece from Wormtounge’s perspective as an anti-anti Sarumon guy. Antifa is the real problem!