Thank you for all the quotes. Tolkien is really a patron saint of the Great Awakening.
I'm one who believes Tolkien's abolitionist message deserves more ink here at GA. Not because we likely could abolish forcible government soon, but because it really is as important a task for the long-term as was ending chattel slavery.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is specifically about the evil of coercive State Power, and the Ring of Power is as clear and blatant a symbol as I can imagine. It isn't the "Ring of Corruption" or the "Ring of Evil" or of anything else, but of POWER, plain and simple. Power over others. In particular, the ability to INITIATE coercion against other people (coercion used in defense of the innocent is very different, of course).
The State is the ultimate prize for the sociopath and the natural home of the psychopath; watch how they scramble to attain the Power of the State! As part of the State, or even as partner TO the State, one can force millions to do (or not do) almost anything, even against their will and against their best interests -- and one doesn't get ARRESTED for doing this, not when one is wielding or directing or buying the Power of the State, no: IT'S a highly-respected and even sacred JOB and those who do it are treated as royalty instead of as criminals.
No wonder the Ring of Power is so addictive! No wonder it corrupts even innocent souls! Frodo is the hero of the story because he alone is able to carry the ring without quickly becoming corrupt, but even he feels it eating away at him. For us, Trump is (among other things) our Frodo; able to carry the Power without becoming corrupted; working to whittle the Power down, to give Power back to the People, to remove forcible regulations and laws and stupidities from the backs of the citizens.
But the corruption and addictive quality of Power is real and very few can resist after touching it. No wonder America's small Ring of Power -- constitutional government -- GREW over the years into the monster we have today. Civil society -- a FREE society, where regulation, protective services (police, etc), and everything else -- including, yes, national defense -- is safer, less costly, more efficient, better run, and more effective than using coercive government, because "everything government touches turns to shit." And by "shit" I mean corruption, violence, aggressive war, and all manner of tyranny.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings weaves that truth into an epic story, and that kernel of truth is the important part of the tale. Here is Gandalf refusing to even touch the Ring and explaining why (dialog from the Peter Jackson film version):
Frodo, desperately handing the Ring to Gandalf)
Take it, Gandalf. Take it!
(Gandalf, backing away from the Ring)
No, Frodo.
(Frodo)
You must take it!
(Gandalf)
You cannot offer me this Ring.
(Frodo)
I'm giving it to you!
(Gandalf)
Don't tempt me, Frodo! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe. Understand, Frodo – I would use this Ring from a desire to do good . . . [long pause] . . . but through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.
Thank you for all the quotes. Tolkien is really a patron saint of the Great Awakening.
I'm one who believes Tolkien's abolitionist message deserves more ink here at GA. Not because we likely could abolish forcible government soon, but because it really is as important a task for the long-term as was ending chattel slavery.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is specifically about the evil of coercive State Power, and the Ring of Power is as clear and blatant a symbol as I can imagine. It isn't the "Ring of Corruption" or the "Ring of Evil" or of anything else, but of POWER, plain and simple. Power over others. In particular, the ability to INITIATE coercion against other people (coercion used in defense of the innocent is very different, of course).
The State is the ultimate prize for the sociopath and the natural home of the psychopath; watch how they scramble to attain the Power of the State! As part of the State, or even as partner TO the State, one can force millions to do (or not do) almost anything, even against their will and against their best interests -- and one doesn't get ARRESTED for doing this, not when one is wielding or directing or buying the Power of the State, no: IT'S a highly-respected and even sacred JOB and those who do it are treated as royalty instead of as criminals.
No wonder the Ring of Power is so addictive! No wonder it corrupts even innocent souls! Frodo is the hero of the story because he alone is able to carry the ring without quickly becoming corrupt, but even he feels it eating away at him. For us, Trump is (among other things) our Frodo; able to carry the Power without becoming corrupted; working to whittle the Power down, to give Power back to the People, to remove forcible regulations and laws and stupidities from the backs of the citizens.
But the corruption and addictive quality of Power is real and very few can resist after touching it. No wonder America's small Ring of Power -- constitutional government -- GREW over the years into the monster we have today. Civil society -- a FREE society, where regulation, protective services (police, etc), and everything else -- including, yes, national defense -- is safer, less costly, more efficient, better run, and more effective than using coercive government, because "everything government touches turns to shit." And by "shit" I mean corruption, violence, aggressive war, and all manner of tyranny.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings weaves that truth into an epic story, and that kernel of truth is the important part of the tale. Here is Gandalf refusing to even touch the Ring and explaining why (dialog from the Peter Jackson film version):
Frodo, desperately handing the Ring to Gandalf)
(Gandalf, backing away from the Ring)
(Frodo)
(Gandalf)
(Frodo)
(Gandalf)