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?

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