Bonus: Heroics at the Expense of Others

There's a passage in this week's chapter that I would like to highlight, but I am having trouble connecting it to our world for any ethical lessons.  So we'll call it a bonus!

This week's chapter is called "The White Rider".  Gandalf returns!  Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli give him an account of what has happened since he fell.  When they say what happened to Boromir he says:

"'Poor Boromir!... It was a sore trial for such a man: a warrior, and a lord of men. Galadriel told me that he was in peril. But he escaped in the end. I am glad. It was not in vain that the young hobbits came with us, if only for Boromir's sake.'"

Let's take a closer look at what is being said.  The trial is to take The One Ring - a great weapon - and destroy it.  For Boromir, a warrior, this would have been very difficult.  We know he wanted the Ring to come to Minas Tirith.  Not because he was an idiot (though maybe because he's simple) but because he saw weapons as things to be used, not destroyed.  It must seem a great waste to Boromir to have it thrown it away.  But, of course, the Ring proved too much for Boromir, and when his wish to bring it to his city was continually denied he tried to take it.

But "he escaped".  By this Gandalf is speaking only of his reputation.  Boromir did not die trying to take the Ring from Frodo, but instead he died defending others.  It is a little strange to me that Gandalf says that Merry and Pippin have now served a purpose - giving Boromir a chance to redeem himself - given that they could have easily been killed.

The problem with this episode is there isn't much to learn from it.  Sure, Trump being elected is a great rallying cry across the country and I have taken note of which of my friends are standing up and which are standing aside.  Trump's election gives us who oppose him an opportunity to shine that we otherwise would not have had.  If Clinton had won in 2016, would I have gone to as many political rallies as I have?  Probably not.  Trump's election gives us a reason to 'escape' a mundane life, but honestly I'd have preferred he not have won.  My life may have been more dull, but that seems a small price to pay for global stability and less domestic horrors.  If we justify evil because of the heroics it drives us to do, then what we're saying is evil is necessary to get us to living our best life.  And that seems like bullshit.

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