On responding

This week we read "A Journey In The Dark."  Having failed to cross the Caradhras mountains Gandalf says the Fellowship has only one choice: to enter the caverns of Moria under the mountains.  It is possible they will find friendly hosts to welcome them - dwarves mine these mountains.  But it's also possible they are deserted, or overrun by orcs.  They also might simply get lost.  Gandalf says that while he has passed through Moria before, that was a long time ago and he did so coming from the other direction.  Hearing all this bad news,  Pippin and Sam say they don't want to go.

‘Of course not!’ said Gandalf. ‘Who would? But the question is:
who will follow me, if I lead you there?’
‘I will,’ said Gimli eagerly.
‘I will,’ said Aragorn heavily....
‘I will not go,’ said Boromir; ‘not unless the vote of the
whole Company is against me. What do Legolas and the little folk say?
The Ring-bearer’s voice surely should be heard?’
‘I do not wish to go to Moria,’ said Legolas.
The hobbits said nothing. Sam looked at Frodo. At last Frodo spoke.
‘I do not wish to go,’ he said; ‘but neither do I wish to refuse the advice of Gandalf.

"Here we have five kinds of responses.  The eager one, the somber one, the one that will not obstruct, the one that does not answer, and the one that accepts complexity."
"Which one is best?"
"None.  All of have their place.  Of the eager, it is easy to find:  To respond eagerly makes one the best kind of companion, if one is also eager.  Gimli likes the underground, and wants to share it with the others."
"And when is eager not preferred?"
"When we are somber, we will also want a somber response.  At those times eagerness may irritate, not delight, us."
"The soldiers who go to war for glory will clash with their companions who have gone for duty, even if they all agree on the enemy."
"Motivations matter."
"The one that will not obstruct is what most of us use most of the time, hopefully.  Pursuing not ideology, but camaraderie.  They do not prioritze their own preferences."
"Is such a response not compromising their principles?"
"Not if their principle is teamwork and inclusion.  Boromir also solicits Legolas and the hobbits for their answer.  He wants more voices, not quick agreement."
"Why did you describe Legolas' response as 'the one that does not answer'?  He clearly doesn't want to go.
"But the actual question was who will follow Gandalf into Moria.  Legolas doesn't want to go to Moria.  By his evasion, however, we understand that he will if Gandalf leads.  His is like Aragorn's in this way.  However, his is an evasive answer.  He doesn't embrace his fate, but merely accepts it."
"And Frodo's?  The 'one that accepts complexity'?"
"Frodo takes both Aragorn and Legolas' response and forces them together, though there is a contradiction within.  He does not want to go to Moria, but he will if Gandalf leads."
"Since he said "I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way," he must do this.  He must go where he is led."
"He could abandon the Quest, as we know he does at the end.  But the responsibility has grown on him.  Or perhaps he has risen to meet it."
"Frodo has grown a lot since we first met him.  He seems to be beginning to understand that not only is walking into danger inevitable for his Quest it is in fact the only path.  Frodo will have to learn to not recoil from danger - danger is the very thing which will help him reach his ultimate goal, to be rid of the Ring.  The safer his path, the further from success he is."
"So we have our responses, which we may give and recieve at different times.  Eagerness, when we are excited to share; Somber, when we know we must share; Inclusive, when we involve others before us; Evasive, when absence indicates truth; and complex, when holding values or feelings which are in tension with each other."
"Complex is clearly the highest form of response."
"But not always suitable.  If your friend is eager, and you are also eager, why bring in complication?"
"We should push our friends."
"But we don't always have to."
"I thought ethics was doing the harder thing."
"Huh - good point.  But clearly there's ethical value in sharing enthusiasm with your friend."
"But that is easy."
"But that doesn't mean its right.  Ethics is choosing the harder thing, but just because something is harder doesn't mean it's ethical.  The way to be ethical with a child is different than with an adult and that's different if that adult is a stranger or a close family friend."
"So which is best?"
"As I said, all have their place."
"How can we know when to use each?"
"That is beyond for us to say.  Human life is too complex.  It is enough for us to draw these distinctions out, such that others can take this conversation into their own lives."
"We've overlooked a response type.  There are really six."
"Which did we miss?"
"The easiest one to skip, though it is very important to listen to: Silence.  'The hobbits said nothing.'  They can't even voice a decision."
"Oh, and I now see a seventh response!"
"Seven?"
"'Sam looked at Frodo.'  We can appeal to others for leadership, or some other support."
"The seven responses.  Let us list them:

• The eager one
• the somber one
• the one that will not obstruct
• the evasive one
• the silent one
• the one that looks to others
• The one that embraces complexity."

"I cannot see more.  It would be fitting to have nine, for our nine companions."
"It is fitting nonetheless.  Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.  This is where the Fellowship goes next."
"A journey in the dark, indeed!"

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ChatGPT contributed about 15% to this post's final version.  However it also defined 'intricate' like this: "Intricacy" refers to the quality or state of being intricate, complex, or detailed with many interconnected and elaborate parts. It implies a high degree of complexity or intricateness, often involving a web of finely detailed elements that together contribute to the overall complexity of a system, design, or concept.