What the Fall of Gandalf Means

This is it!  If you know any scene from Lord of the Rings, it is likely the climactic scene from this chapter, "The Bridge of Khazad-Dum".  Gandalf's face-off with the Balrog is one of the best known and oft quoted scenes from the whole series.  Heck, if I was teaching a class on Lord of the Rings I would tell my students.  "If you do not study, YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

But I digress.

While reflecting on the implications of Balin's death, the Fellowship is ambushed.  They manage to escape and find the Bridge of Khazad-dum (Khazad-dum being the dwarven name for Moria).  On the other side lies their escape from the Moria.  But they are attacked by an ancient evil - an evil unconcerned even with Sauron and his Ring - a Balrog.  It is described thus, "What it was could not be seen: it was like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater; and a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it."  Black upon black.  In a world defined by light and dark, the Balrog is clearly an evil entity.  However dark their journey into Moria had been, the Balrog is that darkness made manifest.

You know the rest.  Gandalf faces the Balrog.  He defeats him.  But, tragedy!  The Balrog, on his way down, takes Gandalf with him.  "Fly, you fools."  And he's gone - tumbling down the chasm after the Balrog.

The Fellowship is stunned.  Though far from out of danger, they remain rooted where they stand, shocked.  It is Aragorn and Boromir who rouse them to take them up and out of Moria.  As the text says, "They stumbled wildly up the great stairs beyond the door, Aragorn leading, Boromir at the rear."

I want to examine this quote from two different angles, if you'll indulge me.  The first is within the context of Middle Earth itself.

This episode is a microcosm of the fate of Middle Earth.  Gandalf, like all wizards, is a Maia, a divine being of Middle Earth.  Wizards are sent to Middle Earth with a Purpose.  Once their Purpose is complete, they leave.  The elves, immortal but not divine, are leaving Middle Earth.  So it is humans, what our text refers to as "men", that must take up the mantle of leadership.  Yes, hobbits and dwarves also remain, but neither of them are interested in nor capable of ruling.

Let's review again what happens in this chapter.  A wizard has fallen.  Was his purpose to give his life for the Fellowship?  Certainly we, repeat readers, know that Gandalf will Return - but as far as the Fellowship knows, Gandalf is gone forever.  On a cosmic scale, Men will have to take the lead in protecting Middle Earth from evil.  On a personal scale, Aragorn and Boromir must now lead the Fellowship.  It is worth noting that the text doesn't even raise the possibility that Legolas might take the helm.

Boromir is the son of the Steward of Gondor, and Aragorn is a descendant of the line of kings of Gondor.  Both are of noble blood.  Middle Earth is clearly set in the time frame of late medieval/early industrialization (the renaissance doesn't occur, so the two time periods are adjacent).  Thus, their nobility allows us to take Boromir and Aragorn's actions in this crisis as a model of how men respond to the passing of the torch.  Certainly this is the Creative Wizard's point of view (It is inherent in the text that the good characters support the monarchy of Gondor and all of its inevitable trappings).  That is to say, this moment should be viewed as a microcosm for the rest of Middle Earth.  The old powers are fading, either because their time has come (like the elves) or because they have fulfilled their purpose (like Gandalf).  Humans should fill the vacuum left behind.

Let us also examine how they take over, and what it can say about our world.  "They stumbled wildly up the great stairs beyond the door, Aragorn leading, Boromir at the rear."  Aragorn is in front and Boromir is in back.  What can we learn from this?

Aragorn is in front - he is leading.  A leader needs vision, drive, clarity, relevant knowledge and skills, etc.  Aragorn has these things.  He is well-traveled and he understands the need for the Ring's destruction (something about which Boromir has already expressed doubt).  He is the right person to take charge (By my evaluation, he possesses all 16/16 of these "essential leadership skills").  The Fellowship may still fail, but it will not be for lack of a capable leader.

Now let's take a look at Boromor.  Boromir is in the rear.  Is this because he is unable to lead?  I say no.

It's true that Boromir is a poor choice to lead, especially when someone like Aragorn is available.  (By my evaluation, Boromir possesses only 6/16 of those "essential leadership skills")  But Boromir is more than a suboptimal leader.  He is an excellent follower.  Yes, Boromir has his own ideas and is willing to argue for them, but he also demonstrates a willingness to accept when the opinion of the rest of the Fellowship is against him.  He wants the Ring to come to Gondor and be used against Sauron (though I suppose there is an argument to be made this is the Ring causing him to propose such a reckless plan).  He wants to take a different path to cross the Misty Mountains (by neither going over nor under them).  But in each case he is outvoted and he takes this in stride.

When they get stuck in the blizzard on Caradhras, rather than boast his route may have proved better, Boromir takes on the arduous task of clearing out the snow in their path.  When the Fellowship is beset by orcs at Balin's tomb, he draws his sword to their defense without a word of complaint.  Boromir can be counted on to do what is needed.  The whole reason Boromir, not his brother Faramir, is with the Fellowship is exactly because of his willingness to take on risk.  In an earlier chapter Boromir recounts that his father had intended to send Faramir to Rivendell, but Boromir insisted he be sent instead since the journey was potentially dangerous.

Boromir is shown to be loyal and brave and submissive.  His position in the rear is important.  If the orcs and goblins give chase he will be the most vulnerable.  Aragorn may be able to lead the company - but Boromir can be counted upon to protect them.  A group full of leaders may come up with ground breaking ideas but, without workers who have the skills and the grit and the demeanor to follow directions, none of those ideas will become reality.  Successful groups - from Fortune 500 companies to small town garage bands - must have both Aragorns and Boromirs to achieve their goals.

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Friends: Providing Light in the Darkness

This week's chapter is called "A Journey Into the Dark," which is a fitting title.  All of the action happens in the dark, either because it is night or because they are travelling underground.  But beyond that, the Fellowship is metaphorically in the dark during this chapter because they are often not sure of their next step.

Though they have been defeated by the blizzard on top, the Fellowship must still get to the other side of the Misty Mountains.  After some debate they ultimately decide to travel under the mountains, through the Mines of Moria.  But getting in isn't so simple: the door to the mines has been long shut, and dwarf doors are invisible when closed.  And even after they find it, opening the door proves to be a challenge.  And even then they do not know the right route through the mines.  They stop at every split in the cavern, and even Gandalf admits he is making only his best educated guess each time they choose which path to take.

Things are made more difficult because, although Moria had once been a thriving dwarf stronghold, it is now deserted.  The 'dark' deepens.  The chapter ends when they find a hint to the answer: The tomb of Balin, the Dwarf who led a mission to reestablish Moria's former glory.  He has evidently failed - but to what, they do not yet know.

Before they enter the mines, while they are looking for the way in, Gandalf and Gimli scour the rock wall for the door.  Gandalf doubts their chances but Gimli remains optimistic.  Gandalf tells him, "You encourage me.  We will seek the hidden doors together."

We like to think we know the world around us, but frankly we are surrounded by mystery.  Lettuce can suddenly be found to be very dangerous.  Data can be lost forever.  An Amazon package we were looking forward to can arrive incomplete (as happened to me recently).  An alarm clock can fail to go off.  And that isn't even touching real catastrophes like illness and surprise car repairs (Most Americans cannot cover such a sudden cost).  The routine of our life is very fragile.  It can be disrupted in countless ways, and then we are suddenly in the dark, searching for a way out.  And in the dark, all doors are hidden.

What a pleasant reflection Gandalf is giving us about companionship!  The benefit of companions is not that they prevent troubling times but that they provide support during them.  Friendships are built on shared experiences.  This is why so many friendships begin at school and at work.  You enjoy (or endure) certain moments together and these moments draw you closer.  That closeness then prepares you for difficult times.  Recently I was stuck on the highway with my girlfriend because she got a flat tire.  We were waiting for over an hour on a very cold night.  While this wasn't our preferred reason to spend time together, it was more enjoyable than we expected, and certainly better than enduring it alone.  Further, it is a new shared experience which brings us even closer.  Thus, surviving hard times is both a testament to and a strengthening of companionship.

Friends also bring with them their own experiences.  Recall how Gandalf says "you encourage me."  Gimli is a dwarf looking for a dwarf door.  Gimli is in his element.  While to Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship going underground is not an appealing idea, Gimli has a very different attitude, which brings comfort and encouragement to the rest.  Who hasn't breathed a sigh of relief when, after sharing a difficult situation you are facing, a friend responds by saying "I also had a problem like that."  Their solution may not apply completely to yours, but at least you are reminded others have faced your predicament and come out the other side.

So the next time you are struggling with something, reach out to one of your friends.  You are not alone.  Fight the voice in your head that says no one cares or that asking for help is just bothering other people.  Your friends care, and they'll talk it out with you.  And though the burden remains on you to solve the problem, their insight may throw some light on it, perhaps revealing a previously hidden door.

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Defeat

"Caradhras had defeated them."  This is how this week's chapter, "The Ring Goes South," ends.

Lord of the Rings is a story.  As such, we expect certain patterns.  One major pattern of storytelling is overcoming obstacles.  If a protagonist is facing a difficult situation, they will overcome it.  This is how stories progress.  If the protagonist cannot overcome it, the story necessarily suffers.  Why have a problem that is not, eventually, defeated?

So it is a bold decision of the Creative Wizard to have the Fellowship of the Ring be defeated by the first obstacle they encounter.  Caradhras is a mountain, and as they try to climb it they get assaulted by snow.  It's unclear whether this is bad luck, Sauron or Saruman, or the mountain itself, but the snow threatens to bury every last one of them.  There is no pushing onward.  They must turn back.

What can we learn from this?

There are lots of quotes about failure.  But they all try to be optimistic.  They want to put a positive spin on it.  This reflects the larger cultural norm.  We rarely talk about our failures.  We sometimes talk about our struggles or our shortcomings or our imperfections or what we hope to change but that dodges the conversation on failure.  Failure is rough and harsh and it sucks.  It is easy to see why we avoid it.

But failure is real, and we can't always spin it toward a happy ending.  I wrote a whole graduate paper attempting to theologically justify the Holocaust.  But no matter the answer we land on, the holocaust must be deemed a failure of humanity.  There is nothing to be learned that should not have been already known or could not have been learned otherwise.  And while "never again" is a good slogan, "never" surely would have been better.

The AIDS crisis is another good example of harsh failure.  It killed hundreds of thousands of people.  Here's a good visual of how it impacted the LGBT community.  The failure was partly because of the strength of the disease and partly due to politicians refusing to take it seriously.  But a failure it was, and many paid the ultimate price because we did not defeat it.

It may sound like I am admonishing - that humans failed by allowing and perpetuating the holocaust and that Americans failed by not responding to the aids crisis sufficiently.  And in these examples indeed I am.  But failure is not always worthy of punishment.  Every failure is not a moral defeat.  Similarly, not every defeat teaches a lesson.

The Creative Wizard, by opening the second volume with a dramatic and complete defeat, seeks to remind us of the odds the Fellowship faces.  They are only nine, trekking through dangerous terrain towards more dangerous terrain.  There may be some personal growth, but ultimately this will be a march of attrition.  Indeed, unless my memory fails me, every enemy encounter they have for the rest of this book will result in the loss of a companion (Gandalf falls to the Balrog and Boromor is slain by Uruk-Hai).  This is not a heroic quest to retrieve a boon, but to destroy a burden.  Failure means total annihilation.  The journey is not to improve the world but to prevent it's destruction.

In his notes Tolkien blamed the current situation of Middle Earth on the Elves.  The article is a long one - here is the relevant piece:

In several places, Tolkien openly stated his authorial judgment that the
elves who made the Three Rings were ultimately to blame, having set the stage for
tragedy in Middle Earth. They made their own rings (preceding Sauron's One Ring)
in order to control the world, stopping time and preventing change,
forbidding anything to die and decay and thus blocking the potential for
new growth. In an oft-quoted letter, Tolkien wrote:
"They wanted to have their cake and eat it: to live in the mortal historical
Middle Earth because they had become fond of it ... and so tried
to stop its change and history, stop its growth, keep it as a pleasaunce."

But now they hide their three Rings, because they know they are not to be used, but they cannot destroy them.  They are bound to their mistakes.  They failed and all of Middle-Earth must reckon with it.

Defeat is often considered a cause for inspiration.  "Like the phoenix rising from its ashes," and all that.  I get it, and as a teacher I agree the optimist spin is useful.  But I think it is also instructive to consider the uselessness of defeat.  The waste.  The void.  The energy and time you cannot get back.  The resources spent.  The friends you might lose.

The Creative Wizard gives us a chapter that begins with hope and ends in utter defeat.  The Fellowship must turn back, having lost time, energy, supplies, as well as secrecy.  Birds have been seen flying in unusual patterns near them and they deduce they are spies sent to seek out their location.  "That cannot be helped now," says Gandalf, since there is nowhere to hide but in the snow.  All the optimism, what little they had, is lost.  They must proceed ever under the shadow of this initial failure.

On further reflection, there is one concrete benefit to failure - it helps one develop empathy.  If you never fail, but others do, you may consider their defeats to be personal.  They were defeated, but you've never been.  And given the importance of community to healthy living, being able to bond over failure and understand failure in others is a critical skill.  I think our society romanticizes failure a little bit, but certainly demonizing it is a bad solution.  It's probably worse.  It's probably better to live in a world that is too optimistic than is too pessimistic.  But that's a discussion for another time...

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Looking For The Root Cause

This week's chapter is called "The Council of Elrond."  Many of Middle Earth's finest have arrived in Rivendell, all with news of the Enemy.  They have all arrived at the same time - seemingly by chance.  A dwarf, Gloin, one of Bilbo's companions, has come with unsettling news that one of Sauron's messengers have come to his realm seeking information about a ring and hobbits "since one of these was once known to you".  Legolas comes from Lothlorien to report that Gollum has escaped Elfish captivity.  Boromir, a man of Gondor, has come because he and his brother have had troubling dreams about "Isildur's Bane" (which is The One Ring).  Gandalf has come to tell of the betrayal of Saruman, the greatest of Middle Earth's wizards.  No one has come with good news.

Elrond, lord of Rivendell, calls a council of all these people.  He reveals what connects all of their misfortune - The One Ring has been found.  Elrond goes on,

[In the time of Gil-galad and Elendil] Sauron was diminished, but not

destroyed.  His Ring was lost but not unmade.  The Dark Tower

was broken, but its foundations were not removed; for they were made

with the power of the Ring, and while it remains they will endure.

The Ring must be destroyed.  Hiding it did not work.  There is nowhere it can be kept.  Sauron's power is only growing.  Boromir wonders if they might use the Ring, this powerful ring, against Sauron.  As we learned last week, that is not possible.  The Ring is loyal to Sauron.  No victory is possible while it persists.  The Ring must be destroyed.  Elrond adds,

And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season,

or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world.

We should seek a final end of the menace...

The time to delay and harry Sauron is over.  We see the results: Only future danger.  In order to properly secure Middle Earth from Sauron, the Ring must be destroyed.  It is the only way to truly defeat him.

In 1865, slavery was abolished in America.  In 1964 and 1965, respectively, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were passed, marking an end to the Jim Crow era.  But racism persists.  Racism persisted after 1865, it persisted after 1965, and it not only persists now but is on the rise.  How?

Well, read that paragraph more carefully again.  Slavery ended in 1865 - but racism was not addressed.  Jim Crow ended in 1965 - but racism was not addressed.  To take Elrond's words: "Racism was diminished but not destroyed - it was removed from society but not removed from all people."  It persisted, waiting for its opportunity to rise again.  And here we are.

Before my current relationship, my previous two had been very unhealthy.  I dedicated myself almost wholly to my partner and gave up a lot that was important to me in the name of "love".  It wasn't healthy for me and opened me up to abuse.  I got taken advantage of.  This had been the case with most of my past relationships, but the previous two were really bad.

So towards the end of that last relationship I started seeing a therapist.  When that relationship ended I kept seeing my therapist.  I stayed out of a relationship for all of 2017, instead meeting monthly with my therapist, working on myself.  What did this mean?

I already knew that it was important to love myself and value myself.  But I knew it mostly abstractly.  It was difficult for me to put into words what I loved and valued about myself and how I showed it.  So, all that year, I spent time reflecting on what made me happy and how to pursue it.

After a lot of time and reflection I realized what I liked doing, I realized what was important to me.  And I resolved to keep those things in my life.  Things like playing board games with my friends, things like reading a book regularly, things like a job I find fulfilling even if it doesn't pay very well.  I like waking up early and cooking most of my meals.  I like pushing people's buttons.  I like spending my free time keeping up this blog, even if the self-imposed deadlines sometimes drive me crazy but I also like being a strict task-master and so I keep to them.  I don't like excusing failure and applauding effort that didn't result in success.  I like being forgiving.  I like how those previous two sentences are contradictory but that I still believe in them both.  "I contain multitudes" and etc.

Those bad relationships were over, but how could I prevent myself from repeating my mistakes?  How could I "seek a final end of the menace"?  I didn't want to avoid all relationships, so how could I avoid only the bad ones?  By figuring out the things that were important to me I have, again to borrow Elrond's words, "destroyed the foundation" that led to my abuse.  Better yet, I built new foundations that protect me from future abuse.

There are many examples, in society and in our personal life, when we recognize problems and respond to stop them.  But in most cases we only get rid of what we see - we only address what is bothering us and not the root of the problem.  Whether it is a social issue like racism or a personal issue like self-love it is hard to 'seek a final end to the menace'.  It can feel like wasted effort.  Can we really be rid of racism?  Can we really quiet the voice in our head that mocks us?  If we get  rid of enough - out of sight out of mind - isn't that enough?

Of course, to take the above two examples, to "be rid of them" requires some hard work.  You don't stop racism by killing everyone who is racist.  You don't stop self-doubt by ignoring that cruel voice in your head.  You must learn what circumstances lead to their rising.  Why do people become racist?  When does your self-doubt creep in?  Those are the foundations we must not only remove but also replace.

In all cases, whatever the root cause is, The One Ring is a metaphor for it.  We may be tempted to hide it or ignore it or try to use it for good.  These are mistaken impulses.  Addressing the root cause is hard work that takes time - I can attest to that.  Journeying to Mount Doom is a dangerous decision.  But it is the only way to make "a final end of the menace," and to ensure the past becomes is not prologue.

Life can feel like a game of whack-a-mole.  Whenever you hit one, two more pop up.  But the moles are only the visible symptoms of a deeper problem.  If you want your situation to improve you must get on your hands and knees, crawl behind the machine, and unplug the damn thing.  Anything else is only a band-aid.

The Lord of the Rings: An Ethical Guide is a Patreon-supported project.  Thank you to all those who have contributed.

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Finding Your Toolbox

Did you know Lord of the Rings is not actually a trilogy?  It's a six-volume work.  However, it is intended to be read as one novel.  Whereas one can read one Hunger Games or Harry Potter book, take an extended break, then return to read the next book, The Lord of the Rings is not structured like this.  Each book leads directly into the other and is to be read without undue pause.  It was the publisher who decided it should be put out as a trilogy.  It is easier to sell shorter books, and you can market on the cliff-hanger at the end of each.  Why do I bring all this up?  Because we have finished book 1.  This week's chapter, "Many Meetings," is the first chapter of the second book.

In Jewish tradition, when you finish a book of the Torah throughout the annual cycle, you say "chazak, chazak, v'nitzchazeik."  This can be interpreted a variety of ways.  The interpretation I learned is that it means "From strength to strength, we will gather our strength".  Reading the Torah gives us strength, Torah is a source of strength, Torah makes a community stronger, etc.  Given the original goals of this project it would be interesting to think of a phrase to be said at the end of each book, to celebrate our progress.  But that's a problem for another time.

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In this week's chapter Frodo finds himself in Rivendell, safe from the Black Riders who had been pursuing him.  Frodo has been asleep for a few days healing from his injuries.  When he awakens he has the eponymous many meetings: Frodo reunites with Strider and the other hobbits, but also Gandalf and Bilbo.  He also meets some newcomers to our narrative, like Elrond and Arwen.  Indeed, this title is well earned!

As I said, Frodo had been in bed for a few days.  Everyone was worried about him.  When he arises, they are collectively relieved.  Pippin, in particular, makes an over-the-top remark when he sees his Frodo has recovered:

"Hurray!" Cried Pippin, springing up. "Here is our

noble cousin.  Make way for Frodo, Lord of the Ring!"

"Hush!" Said Gandalf... "The Lord of the Ring is not Frodo,

but the master of the Dark Tower of Mordor..."

Gandalf objects to Pippin's characterization of Frodo.  Frodo has borne the Ring and has (mostly) resisted its temptations, but Frodo is not it's master.  Indeed, Frodo can never be the Master of The One Ring  That is, and remains, Sauron, even though he doesn't currently possess it.

What is the Ring, precisely?  When it was created Sauron added some of his own essence.  Sauron is a creature of strength and deception.  The Ring both represents Sauron's desire to dominate all of Middle Earth and is a tool to increase his strength.  The Ring tempts other bearers with a promise of this strength.  They can dominate as Sauron dominates.

But the Ring deceives.  No one can dominate as Sauron dominates - it is only an imitation of his dominance.  In a clash of wills against Sauron the Ring will betray them.  The Ring can be wielded by others, but not against Sauron.

As readers, we can understand The One Ring as a metaphor for power.  If you have it, you will be tempted to use it.  But if you use it, it changes you.  They say discretion is the better part of valor.  It is better to take a temporary loss than to permanently lose yourself for a momentary victory.  There are other ways to act.

Take Donald Trump.  Trump excels at insults.  They are memorable and they are annoying.  They are difficult to ignore.  These insults are one way Trump is, as we have heard many times before, a different kind of politician.  So how do we fight a different kind of politician?  Will the old strategies work?

Some have decided to take him on directly - beat him at his own game.  Marco Rubio decided to throw his own insults at him during the 2016 election.  The results were laughable.  Rubio could not match Trump's ability to cut with words.  Rubio tried to correct-course and the end result was one of the strangest political breakdowns I think has ever happened on live television.

The reason Rubio lost was simple.  Insults are Trump's weapon of choice.  Insults are Trump's Ring.  You can wield them against him, but ultimately insults will aid Trump, not you.  You will harm only yourself.

Another example is to consider the American Revolution.  We've all heard (somewhat exaggerated) that the colonists used guerrilla tactics while the British used European linear tactics.  The British were much better at linear tactics - why try to beat them at their own game?  Instead the colonists decided to exploit the weaknesses of linear tactics.  Only with the aid of the French were the colonists able to use linear tactics effectively.

A final example: I play a lot of board games in my spare time, and some of them I play competitively.  My favorite to play is Diplomacy.  Briefly, Diplomacy is a game of deal making - you must cooperate with some players against others.  Ultimately, to win, you need to be seen as trustworthy and deserving of the win.  People rarely win Diplomacy by brute force.

But there are many styles of play.  Some people refuse to lie.  Some people move their units aggressively.  Some people plant seeds of mistrust between other players.  Some people try to intimidate others.  Some hope to go unnoticed.  All of these styles are valid.

Where some new players run into trouble, I find, is playing a style against a certain opponent, rather than playing their style.  If someone is known for setting up conflict on the board, they'll try to get them embroiled in a conflict, often leaving a front unguarded.  If someone tries to disappear into the din, they'll use all their strength to point this out - unaware that they are now making the din they can disappear into.

In all cases we have people using tools.  There are many ways to make it in this world.  It is important to look inside yourself and discover your natural strengths.  Are you an excellent deal maker?  Do you like to take your time and explore your surroundings or do you prefer to quickly focus in on what's important?  Are you good at bringing people together, or better at pointing fingers at the out-group?  All of these are tools.  There are many ways to live a successful life.  But you need to find the right tools for you.  I say tools and not tool because A) we are all at least competent at multiple things and B) it is a bad idea to depend on only one approach.

Overcoming obstacles is a key skill in life.  There are many tools we can employ for success; find the tools that work for you.  Practice them, hone them, learn how to best apply them.  Finding your toolbox is an important step toward living the kind of life you want to.  Not only will you be equipped to deal with obstacles as they come your way but you'll stay true to yourself, as well.  If overcoming an obstacle changes you, did you really overcome it?

The Lord of the Rings: An Ethical Guide is a Patreon-supported project.  Thank you to all those who have contributed.

Like this project?  Want to learn more?  Want exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content?  Go to my Patreon site and see how you can become a part of the action!

Surviving Troll-Country

"Who lives in this land?" [Frodo] asked, "And who built these towers?  Is this troll-country?"
"No!" Said Strider, "Trolls do not build."

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The Internet is a huge part of society.  We live online.  It is difficult to do something that is not on the Internet and it is remarkable when we do.  Sometime people go "off the grid" for a few hours (or days or even weeks).  But before they do, they always announce it online.

We live online.  We consume news online.  We connect with others online.  We play games online.  We shop online.  Our President tweets.  We Uber, we Tinder, we Kickstart, we get college degrees.  WE. LIVE. ON. LINE.

However, the vast majority of activities online are essentially just speech.  Whether we're reading or writing or watching or recording, the Internet is "the marketplace of ideas" on steroids.  Any idiot can write a political blog.

But speech is fleeting.  It has power, but it can be easily countered by other speech.  President Obama gave 276 executive orders but President Trump has reversed many of them - because he can!  If they had been put into legislation reversing them would not have been so easy (as he found out when trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act).  But building legislation is much harder than issuing executive orders.  Easier said than done, but easier unsaid than undone.

This week's chapter is called "The Flight to the Ford."  Frodo has been grievously wounded by the Black Riders.  His right arm is limp, and a deadly chill resides within him.  He sees dark shadows where there are none and Black Riders pursue him in his dreams.

During their travels, they pass through territory unfamiliar even to Strider.  This is when he and Frodo have the above exchange.  Trolls roam Middle Earth and make their homes where they can, but they don't build anything (unless you count fires to roast their food).  Trolls are the ultimate scavengers.  The Creative Wizard makes it clear how useless they are - exposure to the sun turns them into stone forever.  Especially in a chapter where our main character is experiencing a supernatural chill, the point of the juxtaposition is clear: Middle Earth would be better off without trolls.

In our world, a troll is someone who makes trouble online for the joy of it.  Generally, they are on the political right, but they are not exclusively so.  Some are apolitical.  But they are all worthless.  We would be better off without trolls.

But I get the appeal.  I've engaged in trolling behavior.  It's fun.  It's a nice release from our contentious times.  Even if you aren't changing minds you feel like you've scored a point for your side.  But trolling is the ultimate in "speech is fleeting."  Whatever benefit is gained will be erased or forgotten pretty quickly.  Trolls do not build.

We live online.  Most aspects of life can take place on the Internet.  You can have a rich and varied day without leaving your house - and how cool is that?.  But the internet is troll-country.  And trolls do not build - they only devour and destroy.

We cannot be trolls.  We cannot depend only on speech. We must build.  We must build organizations, we must build support networks, we must build political power.  When we can only speak we must speak loudly and forcefully and find ways to convince those in power to act on our behalf.

It's easier said than done but if it is done it will last longer.  Clicktivism is easy, but those online petitions - alone - won't change anything.  We need to do more.  Marching in Boston to protest the separation of families on the border (As I did over the summer) ain't nothin' - but Massachusetts isn't anywhere near the Mexican border.  Voting is great but it isn't the only way to impact the direction of government.  All of these forms of speech things are good starting points.  They cannot be the end points.

I often wonder how the Freedom Riders did it.  Just left their homes for weeks or months to protest in other states - states where racial injustice was happening.  Taking more than one day off at a time for my job is difficult enough!  And if I leave, how will my rent get paid?  But what good is living in a democracy if I can't effectively fight for what's right?  These difficult questions can awaken the trolls within us.  When the real problems seem too big to solve it's easier to just piss off the other side and call it a win.  "Own the libs", get a laugh, tell your friends, brighten your day a bit.  But the problems still exist.

Trolls do not build.  Why not?  Building is hard.  Building takes time.  When you build you must endure the inconsistent success of progress.  And trolls don't have the patience for such a commitment.  Trolls do what's immediately gratifying.  But that isn't how we repair the world.

What kind of legacy do we want to leave behind?  How do we want history to remember us?  How do we want our families to remember us?  "Legacy, what is a legacy?  It's planting seeds in a garden you never see."  Do we want to grow great enduring towers, or stone forms of our vengeful, devourous selves?

The Lord of the Rings: An Ethical Guide is a Patreon-supported project.  Thank you to all those who have contributed.

Like this project?  Want to learn more?  Want exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content?  Go to my Patreon site and see how you can become a part of the action!

For Each Mood, a Habit

This week's chapter is called "A Knife in the Dark."  The hobbits, led by Strider, leave Bree to make for Rivendell.  During the previous night the Black Riders have attacked the Prancing Pony - Strider wisely had the hobbits sleep in a different room than the one they booked.  We also learn that Crickhollow has been attacked - saved by Fatty Bolger's planning and the Brandybuck's resourcefulness.  Even as our heroes move east, the Creative Wizard tells us what they leave behind.  When you leave home, no matter the reason, it is plainly irresponsible to stop caring about it.

As they journey east, the hobbits and Strider try to strike a balance - they must remain hidden from the Black Riders, but they don't want to remain too hidden, because they hope to find Gandalf, whom they believe is also on the road looking for them.  Eventually, they end up at Weathertop, and lone peak among the grasslands, which provides a view of all the surrounding area.  However, this also makes it an obvious location.  The Black Riders ambush them on the summit, and Frodo is stabbed before they are beaten back.

The journey from Bree to Weathertop takes about a week.  I think it is safe to say very few of us have gone on a week-long hike.  If you haven't, it can be hard to imagine.  If you have, I presume you did so on a well marked path and with an emergency plan if something went wrong.  The hobbits, of course, have much fewer comforts.  Of this situation, Sam says "Apples for walking, and a pipe for sitting."  These are the things he has to look forward to.

An apple for walking.  This makes sense - apples are easy to fit in your hand and they remain firm as you eat them (unlike a pear or a plum).  You can eat it as quickly or as slowly as you want.  You can slip it into a pocket if you need your hands for something else.  They are easy to brush off if they get dirty.  Many have a slightly tart taste to them, which can be a good pick-me-up during the dull hours of walking

A pipe for sitting.  Smoking has a contemplative aspect to it.  You need to focus on your breathing.  While walking one's mind is always at work.  You need to be on the look out for changes in terrain, for dangerous sounds, for changes in weather, and so on.  When sitting, you should give your mind a break.  Smoking allows one's mind to slow down and relax.

Many of the activities we enjoy doing we only enjoy in the right situations.  Eating Buffalo wings is great with friends, but stressful on a first date.  Cereal is nice in the morning, unless you try to eat it in your car.  The smokers that I know like to go outside with others when they smoke - going outside alone feels like timeout.

We can even take this beyond consumables.  When driving, I can listen to podcasts or music.  But, when out for a walk, I only listen to podcasts.  I find the music begins to feel repetitive and I want to change it (which takes away from my walk).  However I think driving, itself, is repetitive so it isn't an issue when my music begins to feel repetitive in the car.

For the past few months I've been working two part time jobs - mostly in the afternoons.  This means I don't have to go to work until about 11, so I have time in the morning.  But for what?  I have found it feels strange to be reading or playing video games in the morning.  So I try to focus on chores so that when I get home in the late evening, they are already done.  Plus, it feels like a good use of the morning.  But I don't have enough chores to keep me occupied.  So instead I've been trying to make myself do the things I do in the evening.  I'm getting more used to it, but it still feels strange.  I still feel as if I am doing these things at the 'wrong' time.

Humans like to categorize things - it helps us make sense of a large world.  But categories are also boundaries - when we try to change categorizations it feels weird.  You can eat pancakes for supper, but you better call it "breakfast for dinner," otherwise it's going to feel weird.  But it isn't really.  It's just a long-standing norm.

I wonder what would happen if we ignored these norms altogether.  Eat pancakes for lunch, and call it lunch.  Wake up, hang out before work, and after work rush home to go to bed.  Have a cup of tea after work instead of alcohol.  I am curious if we would feel freer, because we are not being constrained by tradition, or if we would feel lost, because we are abandoning our cultural guideposts.

Most of the habits we have we developed by accident.  There isn't much reason for them, per se, other than "they work."  Well, they may not work, but they function in ways we are familiar with.  Neediness to the point of pushing away friends and significant others isn't good, but if it happens to you enough times you will know to expect it and know how to respond to it (although breaking habits such as this one is better).  But we can also develop, or improve, our habits on purpose.

In writing this guide, I have tried to follow a general schedule.   I read the text on Sunday, jot down some ideas Monday or Tuesday, write Thursday and Friday, and use Saturday for edits before my elf-imposed noon deadline.  Weeks when I have not kept to this schedule have been harder for me than other weeks.  This schedule works - I want to develop it as a habit.  That's going to take some time, but it can be done.

I explained above why "Apples for walking, and a pipe for sitting," is a sensible view to take.  However, we don't know if Sam knows this.  Is this a saying in the Shire he is now going to test to it's extremes?  Or did it just enter his head and feel 'right'?  It's hard to say.

I've written before about how habits can be destructive.  Obviously, in that case, I meant bad habits.  But we can work to find good habits.  To quote that post, "Notice what gives you joy in the world and notice when it doesn't give you that joy anymore.  When that happens, react as quickly as you can. "  The emphasis is new.  Sometimes we will need more than an apple for walking.  Sometimes the old apples won't fulfill us.  Habits are something that should provide comfort, not entrap us.  When good habits become bad habits we should drop them.  Otherwise, we are sacrificing our own agency in the name of consistency.

The Lord of the Rings: An Ethical Guide is a Patreon-supported project.  Thank you to all those who have contributed.

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Resisting Temptation

This week is another double-portion, which means we're reading two chapters: "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony" and "Strider."  The hobbits  have escaped The Old Forest and arrive in the village of Bree.  Many different folk live here, including some hobbits (Not all hobbits live in the Shire).  They find an inn called The Prancing Pony and decide to check in for the night.  Frodo reminds his friends that he is not to be called Baggins, but in fact Underhill.

The hobbits go to the tavern in the inn and begin to drink.  There is a crowd of regulars and they invite them over.  There is also a loner sitting on the other side of the bar.  Frodo, while keeping a watchful eye on his friends, asks the tavern owner, a man named Butterbur, about the loner.  Butterbur tells him he's a ranger, a mysterious group of men who keep to themselves.

Among the crowd of regulars are a group of Hobbits whose last name is Underhill.  This eases tensions rather quickly, as the Creative Wizard tell us that "they took Frodo in their hearts as a long-lost cousin."  Talk, and beer, flow more freely.

The stranger in the corner motions to Frodo to come over to him.  He warns Frodo his friends seem on the edge of revealing too much.  Pippin has begun to tell the story of Bilbo's disappearance at his birthday party.  He suggests Frodo make a distraction.

Frodo jumps up on the table.  Everyone stops talking and looks at him.  There is a moment of silence and then they begin chanting that he sing them a song.  Frodo begins to feel embarrassed.  He puts his hands in his pockets, as so many of us do when we feel out of place.

He felt the Ring on its chain, and quite unaccountably the desire came over him
to slip it on and vanish out of the silly situation.  It seemed to him, however,
as if the suggestion came to him from outside, from someone or something in the room.
He resisted the temptation firmly, and clasped the Ring in his hand, as if to
keep a hold on it and prevent it from escaping or doing any mischief.

Frodo begins a song and soon finds himself swept up in the revelry.  Everyone begins singing along.   At the end of the song, Frodo falls from the table.  Somehow, during his fall, the Ring gets on his finger.  Everyone gasps, for Frodo has vanished!

Frodo, thinking quickly, crawls to the other side of the room, takes off the Ring, and stands up to reveal where he is.  He tries to claim he had just performed some kind of magic trick.  The crowd is not happy to have been so fooled and they all begin leaving.  The stranger, whom Frodo is now very near, tells Frodo he has done something much worse than any of his friends might have done.  He introduces himself as Strider and tells Frodo they should talk more, but in Frodo's room and not in the public tavern.  Frodo nervously agrees.  So ends the first chapter.

The next chapter takes place in Frodo's room.  Strider, the chapter's titular character and main subject, is eventually revealed to be a friend of Gandalf.  He promises to lead the hobbits to Rivendell, an Elf region, where Gandalf has instructed them to go.

I want to focus on what happened to Frodo in the tavern.  He stands on the table.  The Ring is on his mind - he is on the table to prevent its reveal.  He feels a temptation to wear it, but he is keenly aware this temptation is not his own - it comes from outside.  He resists and grips it in his hand.  He will not be swayed.

However, just a few minutes later, after some jovial singing, he loses his balance and, just like that, the Ring is on his finger.  How could this have happened?

Remember, the Ring has its own will.  The Ring is looking for an opportunity.  The Ring wants to be found, and it will not be found as long as it remains in his pocket.  The Ring wants to be worn.

When Frodo is focused on the Ring, it cannot overpower him.  At this point, Frodo can resist the Ring in a battle of wills (This in itself is a notable feat).  Frodo even realizes that the desire to put it on is not really coming from within himself.  Frodo will not be fooled.

But then Frodo begins singing.  At first it is meant as a distraction to the others, but then Frodo begins to be distracted, himself.  He allows himself to enjoy the situation and this causes his resolve to weaken.  When he stumbles, the Ring sees its opportunity.  It cannot win a battle of wills, but the Ring is single-minded.  It can wait for a better opportunity.  We can easily imagine that when Frodo stumbles he loosens his grip on the Ring.  This is all it needs - it slips onto his finger.

How can we learn from Frodo's efforts to resist the Ring?

It can be easy to fight off temptation when we are focusing on it.  Many temptations in life are not insurmountable - they just require some focus.  Fast food, a personal attack during an argument, staying on the couch instead of going for a walk, hitting the snooze button.  These things may make us feel good in the short term, but they usually cause more trouble than they are worth.  But we've all done them.  These things won't kill us.  So that's...... fine.  Right?

Not really.  These temptations take control away from us.  We are busy after a long day or long week or long month.  We're not at 100%.  And these insidious temptations offer us temporary relief.  But they are not truly on our side.  We would resist them, if we could.

They don't help us solve the problems we are hoping to overcome.  Most food is better than fast food.  Saying a cruel word during an argument does nothing to address the issue.  It is healthier to incorporate some movement into your day.  Hitting the snooze button can actually decrease your overall energy for the day  To resist these things we must focus.  They can only defeat us when we are tired or distracted or busy.  But that is not a weakness, it is their strength.  We must be on our guard all the time.  They need only to overcome our will one time and the battle is lost.

We should remain on our guard anyway.  Giving into temptation is a way of relinquishing control over our own lives.  Saying 'no' requires effort but that effort is in the service of asserting control over our own lives.  Consumerism and pop culture send us so many messages - it can be easy to internalize some of them.  As I write this I find myself wanting McDonald's for lunch, even though the only reason it's on my mind is because I'm writing negatively about it.  But "these suggestions come to [us] from outside, from someone or something [else]."  Like Frodo, we must recognize these temptations are external.  We should grab them and seize control.  Your life and your choices should remain your own.

These things are difficult to resist and at certain stages in my life I have found it easier and harder.  This advice, like all advice, isn't one-size-fits-all.  Or, rather, it may not be your present priority, even if it remains true.  However, if you are on the financial or emotional edge, maybe don't sweat it so much.  You've got different priorities.  I get it.

A final personal anecdote.  One day at work my car broke down and I had to take the bus home.  There was no direct bus from my job to my apartment.  What was usually a 20 minute drive took an hour and a half and three bus transfers.  By the time I was off the last bus, I was exhausted.  However, for some reason, I didn't want to just get home and lie down on the couch - however much I deserved to.  I wanted to do more than that.  So I went to the grocery store (which was near the bus stop), bought spaghetti and ingredients for Alfredo sauce, went home, and refused to sit down until I had made dinner.

I tell this story to you because I tell it often to myself when I feel temptation creeping up.  I use it to remind myself that there was a day when I felt beaten and like "I had earned" a lazy evening and delivery pizza, and that I pushed myself further nonetheless.  And if I could do it then I can do it again now.  It's an important personal story, even if it ultimately is just about a time I was stressed and still made dinner.

The point is, if you resist easy temptation and do the harder thing once, then you'll know you can do it again in the future.  This is a powerful way your life remains yours and not the result of outside messaging by people who care only about your money and your clicks.

The Lord of the Rings: An Ethical Guide is a Patreon-supported project.  Thank you to all those who have contributed.

Like this project?  Want to learn more?  Want exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content?  Go to my Patreon site and see how you can become a part of the action!

Concerning the Upcoming Elections

We are living during dangerous times.  It is an interesting time to write an ethical guide.  On the one hand, ethical guides should transcend the moment.  If it is only good for 2018, it's utility is extremely limited.  On the other hand, an ethical guide that refuses to engage in the ethical dilemmas of the moment is not very useful, either.  No one is going to want to read hypotheticals when we have real crises to deal with.

I've tried to avoid writing about the moment.  This project precedes the current national climate, and I hope it outlives it, too.  But avoiding writing about it neutralizes the impact I may have.  A text should be able to respond to extraordinary times just as well as ordinary times.  And this one can.  During my first year of this project, I wrote about incels and the harassment of women, the rise of Black Lives Matter, consent,  criminal justice reform.  But this year I've neglected to discuss the present as much.  Whether this is active avoidance or because the themes of the chapters didn't lend themselves to the moment is a topic worth debating, but not today.

Last week has been a difficult one.  Bombs sent to politicians and media outlets.  A shooting in a synagogue during religious services.  Other violence that has gotten less media attention.  And we vote next week.  We're in between a terrible week and a week of hopeful possibilities.  Now is as good a time as any to confront the present directly.

This chapter is called "Fog on the Barrow Downs."  The hobbits leave Tom Bombadil and head east.  The Barrow Downs is a hilly landscape the hobbits must pass through.  At lunch time, they take a break on top of one of the hills and fall asleep.  When they wake up, they find fog has enveloped all but the tops of the hills.  They decide to attempt to walk through it, but Frodo gets separated.  Frodo is captured by a barrow-wight and wakes up to find Pippin, Merry and Sam all laid out next to him, seemingly dead.  Panic leads to despair leads to grim resolve.  Suddenly, Frodo remembers the song Tom Bombadil taught them when they left him.  He sings it, and Tom arrives and fights off the barrow-wight, banishes the fog, and revives the hobbits.  Then he leads them all to the border of the Barrow Downs, where he turns back home and they continue on to the village of Bree.

While they are attempting to make their way through the fog, the text tells us "...it seemed plain that they had come further than they had expected.  Certainly the distances had now all become hazy and deceptive, but there could be no doubt that the Downs were coming to an end."  The fog had clouded (haha) their progress.

And so Trump has obfuscated our place.  We are constantly told Trump is bringing about a major change in America.  Or that he will soon.  Or that he already has.  Or that he is president only because such a major change has already occurred.  Or that he, himself, is the change.  Change is, will, or has happened.  It can be hard to tell.

Antifa and right-wingers fight in the streets.  Minorities are demanding equality in ways they hadn't before.  Bombs are sent to political opponents.  The press is labeled "the enemy of the people".  Churches and synagogues are targeted by shooters.  Is this America?

Yes - yes it is.

People seem to be particularly concerned about the degree to which we have changed.  Can we recover from a Trump presidency?  Can we return from the empowerment of White Supremicists at Charlottesville? When does left-wing reaction become an overreaction?  How many synagogues need to be shot up before Jews should consider leaving, as they have so many other countries throughout time?  Or is one already too many?

The distance we have come has become hazy and deceptive.  There can be no doubt "how things were" is coming to an end.  Or will soon.  Or already has.  But when we can't agree where we are it is hard to agree how to fight back.  Birthright citizenship is being questioned.  Is this the dawning of a new era, or just further proof we've already reached one?

Election day is next week - maybe we can wrest control from Trump's party.  Election day is next week - what kind of violence can we expect?  Election day is next week - but due to gerrymandering and voter suppression, we've already lost.  All are valid evaluations of the situation.  All require different responses.

For myself, I think we should give the benefit of the doubt to the progress of our oppressors.  They have already gone too far.  I see no reason to be optimistic that they have been sated or will be slowed.  We must begin to respond to this new reality.  For myself, I've come to the conclusion that totalitarianism is on the rise woldwide.  The time to stop it has passed.  It now must be contained and undermined. We must measure not in battles won but in battles not lost.  We must use our resources sparingly.

As I said before, reasonable people disagrees what stage we are at.  I'm sure the narrative will change after the elections, for better or for worse.  But, at this moment, we do not agree.  Some of this is because America is a very big country.  Not everything is progressing at the same rate all over.  California engages in a resistance of its own.  Voters in Georgia and North Dakota, meanwhile, struggle for basic voting rights.

But even that isn't the end.  Trump threatens violence if his party loses.  I'm sure some leftists threaten violence, too.  Do we want another civil war?  But also: What will we give up before we realize our Chamberlain moment was in Charlottesville, or Pittsburg, or Newtown, and that we wanted peace in our time so much we surrendered justice?

Back to the text.  Frodo is taken by the Barrow Wight.  He awakens in darkness.

He thought he had come to the end of his adventure,

and a terrible end, but the thought hardened him.

He found himself stiffening, as if for a

final spring; he no longer felt limp like a helpless prey."

Though Frodo is taken, he turns his despair into resolve.  If our Republic is to weaken or crumble, we must fight with our last strength.  I know there are some among you who do not like America as it was even before Trump.  That's fine.  You should join us, too.  Where Trump is taking us, there will never be true justice.  America is full of promise - and broken promises.  Trump will break them all.  Before we fix the leaks in our mighty ship of state we must take control of the ship again.  We must remember why we fight, but we must fight to win.  "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right."  Martyrs inspire future generations, but history is written by the winners.  We must win.  America is a huge, colossal world power.  We must not allow it to be taken by those who would use it for naked evil.

Our institutions have not failed us, but, as we learned last week, institutions have a way of being undependable.  Tom saves Frodo and the hobbits, but it is still up to them to destroy the Ring.  Institutions value stability.  We need more than that though.

I don't know what the solution is, and it is my own opinion that these elections will not provide a solution - only a stopgap at best.  I guess we will find out.

My advice is this:  Despair can quickly turn into indecision.  Indecision is paralyzing, and a losing proposition.  So when you sense yourself approaching despair, turn that into resolve.  If you cannot save all the things you care about determine if you can save any and focus on those.  A struggle like the one we are in requires nimble thinking and flexibility.  Hard choices must be made.

It may be noble to say "I will not choose one over the other, both are important" but if the end-result is losing both, that nobility has been only selfish.  Often we hear: "What is required for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."  Often we think that do-nothing attitude is intentional - the good people don't care.  What if it's a byproduct of caring too much?

If we allow despair and paralysis to take hold within us, surely our enemies will triumph.

The Lord of the Rings: An Ethical Guide is a Patreon-supported project.  Thank you to all those who have contributed.

Like this project?  Want to learn more?  Want exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content?  Go to my Patreon site and see how you can become a part of the action!

Tom Bombadil: A Being Above It All

This week we get to meet Tom Bombadil.  Tom is a fantastic character in an already fantastic setting.  If you thought Middle Earth was a strange place, Tom take it to a whole 'nother level.  But who is Tom Bombadil?  Why has the Creative Wizard included him?

As I mentioned last week, Tom Bombadil rescues the hobbits from Old Man Willow, the willow tree that attacks them.  He invites them to his home where they stay for two days.  Living with Tom is Goldberry, 'the riverman's daughter.'  She is described as very beautiful and her movements are always compared to something natural.  She adds to the surrealism of the place.  Nevertheless, they are both kind of the hobbits,  Goldberry and Tom treat the hobbits to many lavish meals, which is about the best thing one can give to travelling hobbits.  Thus is our chapter this week called "In the House of Tom Bombadil."

But the more time the hobbits spend in Tom's house, the stranger things become.  Frodo asks twice who Tom is, once he asks Goldberry and once he asks Tom, himself.  Neither gives a direct answer.  Goldbery tells him he is "the master of wood, water, and hill."  Frodo responds, "Then all this strange land belongs to him?"  Goldberry returns, "No, indeed!...  The trees and the grasses and all things growing or living in the land belong each to themselves.  Tom Bombadil is the Master... He has no fear.  Tom Bombadil is master."

Okay, so Tom is in charge.  Seems like a good guy to have on your side.  But that doesn't explain much.  After dinner, Tom is regaling the hobbits with some stories.

He told them tales of bees and flowers, the ways of trees,

and the strange creatures of the Forest, about the evil things and

good things, things friendly and things unfriendly,

cruel things and kind things, and secrets hidden under brambles.

Frodo interrupts Tom and asks who he is.  Tom says, "Eh, what?  Don't you know my name yet?"  Then he fumbles with his words for a bit before saying, "Eldest, that's what I am."  He says he's been around even before the Elves, and long before the Dark Lord came around.  Then he returns to telling his stories.

Frodo grows bored of these stories (and is more than a little frustrated with these "answers"), so while Tom is talking, Frodo puts on The One Ring.  Merry gasps - he notices Frodo has disappeared.  Frodo starts sneaking out of the room, but Tom calls him out.  Tom can see him!

Tom is a very strange character, indeed.  He is aware of what's happening in Middle Earth, and is willing to take sides (he rescues the hobbits from death), but is ultimately unaffected by even something as strong as the Ring.

So the question remains: who is Tom Bombadil?

Tom Bombadil is, I think, a representation of 'the institution'.  He is not a character with an agenda, he is a representation of everything that transcends the coming conflict.  The trees measure their lives in centuries - a battle between normal mortals is irrelevant to them.  Tom is older than the trees.  Tom is even older than the Elves, which means their passage West is ultimately immaterial to him.  The world turns; Tom abides.

Institutions are not inherently evil.  But they are is inherently inert.  They move, but slowly.  And once they start to move the very size that made them difficult to get going now makes them difficult to stop.  Institutions prefer the status quo - it's just easier.

At my workplace, we have a staff member who, at our meetings, will suggest ideas.  Most of them are very good.  Few of them are implemented.  He doesn't mind.  He says "I'll just keep bringing them up.  Whether it takes a year or a few years, I'll get them in place eventually."  He doesn't mind how slow things go - he knows this is inherent to the process.  Persistence is what is required, not brute force.

Change usually happens slowly and then all at once.  While we may only see the change when it is measured (Wow!  He lost 50 pounds in a year!) it is usually happening all the time, though in immeasurable ways.  To lose 50 pounds in a year you need to enact and keep to a variety of lifestyle changes.  Losing 50 pounds is the result.  Better to say "Wow!  For a whole year they ate better and burned more calories!"  That's the achievement.

As a teacher, I consider it my priority to prevent students from becoming cynics.  As I write in my personal statement of vision, "I will teach students the difference between an achievable goal (promoting recycling in their community) and unachievable idealism (100% recycling worldwide), and how to temper the passion for their cause with realism." Some would say, and have said, that I am placing my adult realism on my students' guileless optimism and thus limiting them.  I understand what they're saying, but I think realism is an important perspective to learn.  Not to depress our goals, but to measure our achievements.  If we have realistic goals, we're more likely to achieve them, and success breeds success.

Tom is not a good measure of Frodo's goals.  Tom doesn't particularly care.  Let's take a close look at the text I noted above, where the Creative Wizard lists off the tales Tom told them.  Everything is paired.  Evil and good, friendly and unfriendly, cruel and kind, etc.  From this we can deduce that balance is important to Tom.  Keeping the status quo.  Neither evil nor good are not important to him, just that there is balance between them.  Kindness and cruelty is not important to him, only the balance.  Indeed, Tom provides a good example of this balance.  When he saves the hobbits, Frodo asks if he came because he knew they were in trouble.  He says he didn't and that it was pure luck.  Then he tells them to come to his home and then leaves them without waiting for them to follow.  They only find it by following the path - the path which previously had led them to the deadly Old Man Willow.

Tom intervenes on their behalf and saves their life, yes.  Tom, like all institutions, wants peace.  But not peace as in justice and freedom - peace as in quiet and the status quo.  Ultimately, Tom proves immovable.  He wants the hobbits to be safe, but he doesn't care about their Quest.  If Mordor emerges victorious, he is likely to help lost orcs just the same as he has just helped the hobbits.  Tom doesn't care.  Tom doesn't need to care.  Tom is above such petty squabbles.  Tom will survive.

Later we will encounter another very old character who does intercede against Mordor.  But he does this only at great cost.  Would Tom have responded similarly, if his home had been attacked?  The text is unclear.  Tom is powerful but ultimately unreliable.  He doesn't have skin in the game.  The institution doesn't care who is in charge.  At the end of the war, whoever wins, the institution will remain.

Here's the clincher:  At the end of the chapter Tom teaches the hobbits a song.  He says they should sing this song if get into trouble.  As long as they are in or near the Old Forest, Tom will be able to save them.  But the Old Forest is not their destination.  Their's is far to the east.  If Tom will not extend his protection beyond his dominion, then he must be left behind.  He is of no use.

A final note: This is why, I think, so many people do consider institutions inherently evil, or at least amoral.  If they don't care who wins, they won't resist evil.  If they don't resist evil, aren't they allowing it, thus strengthening it?  The Elves fight Sauron because they believe he will not just take control of Middle Earth - but because he will destroy it.  If this is true, and if Tom won't act until he sees his own dominion destroyed, is he really "above such petty squabbles"?  Or is he just another myopic, self-interested being, caring only for his immediate needs...

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In Hostile Territory

This week's chapter is called "The Old Forest."  Frodo and company begin their adventure by leaving Crickhollow and heading out into the forbidding Old Forest.  Merry is somewhat familiar with the Forest, but he also admits sometimes the paths change without warning, and the trees are unfriendly.

You've heard of Ents, perhaps.  We will meet them much later.  But this chapter shows why Middle Earth needs Ents.  Often Lord of the Rings is seen as a parable about the sins of the industrial revolution.  The Hobbits, who farm and eat and party and are content, are the heroes.  Saruman cuts down a whole forest and Sauron engages in genetic engineering.  Even the Ring, itself, is an unnatural thing.  Tolkien seems to be against progress.  However, this chapter reminds us that Tolkien does not believe unbridled nature is the solution.  The natural world is dangerous and unpredictable.

The trees crowd the Hobbits on their way, and the path becomes confusing and unreliable.  Merry recounts a story of when the trees attacked the Shire and the Hobbits had to chop off their reaching limbs.  At the climax of the chapter, the hobbits are attacked by a willow tree.

How, you ask?  The willow tree makes them sleepy, and when they doze off it attacks them.  It draws Merry into it's trunk to squeeze him.  Pippin is overtaken by roots.  Frodo is pushed by the tree's limbs into a nearby stream in an effort to drown him.  The Old Forest is no safe haven.

As they wander about, the hobbits cannot help but fret over their dangerous situation:

There was not as yet any sign of a path and the trees seemed constantly

to bat their way.  Pippin suddenly felt that he could not bear it any longer,

and without warning let out a shout.  Oi! Oi1" he cried, "I am not

going to do anything.  Just let me pass through, will you!"

"I should not shout, if I were you," Said Merry. "It does more harm than good,"

Later, Frodo sings a song about being lost in the woods.  Though the forest may seem endless, the song says all paths end.  The song ends with the line "all woods shall fail."  When he says this, the words are seemingly swallowed up by the trees, and the air becomes noticeably thicker.

"They do not like all that about ending and failing," Said Merry.  "I should

not sing any more at present.  Wait till we do get to the edge, and then

we'll turn and give them a rousing chorus."

A few years ago I went on a road trip down to Tennessee.  On my way back, my car broke down and I was stranded in Appalachia.  I was fortunate to have been near a town, though 'town' seems like a generous term.  There was a motel, a gas station for trucks, a building with a big sign that said "food" over it, and a restaurant.  A few miles away was the mechanic.  His son was kind enough to drive me to and from their garage when needed.  I was stuck there for probably two days.

It was January.  There wasn't any snow on the ground, but it was very cold.  The motel wasn't usually open then (I think I just got lucky that the owner happened to also live there) so they didn't have any heat.  The owner gave me two small room heaters.  The TV had three stations.  The shower took forever to warm up.  There were no grounded outlets, so I wasn't able to use my computer.

The restaurant was good, but there was a note at the bottom of the menu - no soup on Sunday.  I don't know if religion actually had anything to do with it.  Once I went walking on a nearby hill.  I heard someone's radio tuned into conservative talk radio and the host was loudly condemning Hillary Clinton for Benghazi.

I was, to put it lightly, in a completely different kind of world than I am used to.  I'm Jewish and I live outside Boston.  I'm liberal.  I feel safe where I am.  I did not feel safe there.  I did not mention I was Jewish, actively lying whenever it came up.  Everyone was nice to me, but I couldn't help but worry what would have happened if I looked Jewish.  Or if I was black.  Or if I was a woman?  Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit.  But why should I?  Why take the risk?

One day the mechanic's son was driving me back to the motel.  We had talked quite a bit by then.  We connected over history - I have given tours in Lexington for quite a few years.  He went to Gettysburg regularly and hoped one day to participate in the re-enactments.  He said he liked the re-enactments because, among other things, it was the only time he could fly the Confederate flag without being criticized.  He then went on to complain that history was being forgotten and the Confederate flag isn't really racist and all the tired arguments we've heard about it.  He finished by saying, "You know what they say  - those who forget their history are doomed." I waited him to say the whole thing, but it didn't happen.  He evidently believed that was the whole saying.

However, I was in what felt like hostile territory.  If not to me, personally, then to people I am close to.  I was fortunate that I could keep my mouth shut and not reveal myself to be what may be perceived as "the other."  I needed these people to cooperate with me.  I needed them to serve me food, to keep their motel open, and to fix my car (and at a reasonable price).  As much as I wanted to speak out, was this the right moment?  I was a stranger stranded in their land.  Why would they listen to me?

We live in an increasingly totalitarian world.  Not only in the Middle East, not only in Latin America, but also in Europe and even in America.  Dissent is not as valued.  If you are on the side of those in power, any dissent is seen as an attack.  And if you are on the side of those out of power, dissent is not enough.  You must be a revolutionary.

These extremes will breed more extremes.  A revolution is victorious or it is squashed.  Anything else is a loss.  As we've learned in Iraq and Afghanistan (and Vietnam, before), unless you can totally defeat the enemy, they'll just keep recruiting and keep attacking.  Similarly, a totalitarian regime is victorious or it is defeated.  There is no survival for "the other".  They are defeated or they flee.  This binary choice pushes all to the extremes.

The trees of The Old Forest do not like visitors.  They are irritable and prone to violence.  They object even to certain words, even when those words are meant as benign (When Frodo sings that the woods will end and fail, it is obvious he means the woods can be left behind, not that the woods will cease to exist).  The trees don't communicate clearly, they only act more or less hostilely.  You need to guess what they're thinking and hope you guess right.

But Merry provides an alternative.  They will soon leave the woods - the woods that have abused them throughout their travel.  When they leave, they can insult them all they want.  Heck, they can "turn and give them a rousing chorus" right on the border.  And what will they be able to do about it?  Nothing.

The world is becoming more dangerous even for us Americans at home.  I was listening to a podcast which had an extended quote from the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.  Hearing his voice for such a long time she came to my room and looked at me quizzically.  She asked if I liked him.  I said no.  Then the podcast hosts came back on, and she understood I was just listening to the news.  She said, "Oh whew - I thought I was going to have to move!"  She nor I didn't laugh.  We understood.

But that's crazy, to not be able to live with someone because they have different political opinions!  Heck, many people oppose marrying outside their political tribe.  That's some extreme shit!  How can you know the political tribe of everybody you interact with?  You can't!  So when we talk about it in public we use hushed tones, as if we're plotting something terrible, lest someone from The Other Side overhears and interjects.  Or we talk about it loudly, almost daring someone to disagree.  When we ask someone's political opinions, it is rarely a genuine question, but more likely a probe.  We hear they support gun rights?  We assume they oppose abortion, don't value the arts, and are probably racist.  We hear they support immigration?  We assume they are pro-choice, anti-gun, and part of "The Resistance."  And then we decide to be nice to them or not based on these assumptions.  The public space is no longer safe - it is a highly surveilled space, and Big Brother is us.

Extreme measures, by their nature, tend to lack strategy.  When you're in an extreme situation, you often have so little power that you just need to do everything you can and just hope something works.  But this is often counter productive.  No matter what side you're on, enemies count on you making a misstep.  You can win just because your opponent did something stupid and lost.  But a win is a win.

Pippin shouts at the trees because he resents them for assuming he has ill-will.  Frodo sings a song to keep the company's spirit up.  In both cases, Merry has to intervene.  Neither song nor resentment is appropriate.  They need to employ strategy, even if it is as simple as waiting for a better opportunity.

The world is dangerous.  Be safe.  Be thoughtful.  Plan carefully.  The more extreme you are, the more likely you are to adhere to a "strategy" of brute force.  But The Old Forest is unforgiving.  It is here to swallow you up.  And the trees are strong.

The Hobbits, in the end, are defeated.  They are saved only by a eucatastrophe.  A mysterious character named Tom Bombadil happens to pass them by and, when he whispers to the willow tree, it releases the hobbits.  He invites them to his house, which is where our next chapter will take place.

We will explore more of Tom Bombadil next week.  But suffice to say he doesn't do much in this story and he doesn't show up again.  His power and motives are mysterious.  We cannot depend on our own Tom Bombadil coming to rescue us.  We are the ones we've been waiting for.  We must be.

The Lord of the Rings: An Ethical Guide is a Patreon-supported project.  Thank you to all those who have contributed.

Like this project?  Want to learn more?  Want exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content?  Go to my Patreon site and see how you can become a part of the action!