Interesting...

i had forgotten about the sams in the world that remind us that we are stronger than we think at times. and in the end, when we lose who we are are can't mannage to do it on our own, they are there, to push us through. to hold our hand. to do that which we cannont. they are there until the end, and then they are there after that.

Thank you for this reminder.

Thanks so much for sharing what you did with the rest of us. Yes, there are definitely some good folk in this world ... and it's well worth fighting for. We all deserve that. I'm saving this as a reminder.
peace and love ... Kyle Anne

this is one of my favorite parts from all three movies... I watched the Lord of the Rings ALL THE TIME for like two years after I was raped... it is still a comfort to me. For many reasons.

It's kind of bizarre that you should post this, because I was driving yesterday and had the thought, how can the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? Then I thought, "it won't go back to the way it was. Because it isn't that way for me anymore. (We set out to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me.) Wow how dorky is it that I can fit a LOTR quote into almost any situation... and i DO! hahah

anyway thanks for posting this. Like I said, it's a comfort to me...

I love it because of the allegory about not being seduced by available power. Notice that like all great villains, the corrupt characters in LOTR never see themselves as evil; on the contrary, they see themselves as claiming hold of coercive power to accomplish some feat of good. The temptation translates well into our world, where it is so easy to wield power and force over others and justify it by saying, "but I meant well!" or perhaps even more darkly, "s/he deserved it!"

For example, every person here has been attacked in some form. My family has been injured by spite from those who see themselves as morally justified, taking up the "Good cause" and placing hindrances in our path. Yet my holy vows as part of my religion and ceremonial life prevent me to ever act in retaliation or to take vengeance. I am to be completely peaceable. I may defend myself, but I may never go further and initiate acts of cruelty against any living being.

Darth Vader, for example, didn't see himself as evil. Remember? He pleaded with Luke to join him to "bring balance to the universe" and "end these wars."

Voldemort was originally seeking a solution for eternal life.

Satan was initially trying to force all humanity into an ordered, controlled, and compliant Creation.

So what is the hope this gives us? It reminds us that sometimes heroism isn't about taking power, but being courageous enough NOT to take power over others. It means trusting in the good of others--even though we are sometimes let down by that faith--rather than mobilizing force. The great sociologist Willard Waller postulated that the opposite of love is not hate, but power--we cannot love what we treat with power.