If there is one single virtue that stands out in Tolkien’s masterpiece, it is courage, the manly virtue of those who must fight against those who would enslave them and turn to ruin all they love.

By Jim O’Neill at Canada Free Press

EXCERPTS:

If you haven’t read Ben Wiker’s book “10 Books That Every Conservative Must Read,” it may surprise you to learn that one of the “books” he recommends is the trilogy “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR). (It is interesting to note that the author of LOTR, J.R.R. Tolkien, converted famed Christian apologist C.S. Lewis to Christianity—Lewis was an atheist when Tolkien first met him.

Wiker observes that “the presence of the One Ring represents many subtle facets of evil, but three are particularly worth our attention.”

First, it represents an evil far deeper and darker than mere hobbits can understand…. We hobbits must recognize that we are part of a far larger cosmic battle.

Second, the One Ring represents the essential, and often painful, self-limitation of the good man who could use an evil means to a seemingly good end, who is sorely tempted to use an evil means to a noble end, but forces himself to turn away.

Finally, we must not overlook the obvious. The Ring is…a single power that ultimately resides in a single source, Sauron in Mordor, [who] presents the very essence of totalitarianism: the desire to override all the real wills of real persons…and reform all that is below him into one master plan. He imposes government from the top down, crushing everything in its path as of no consequence.

Whether you label it Marxism/Fascism versus Democracy, or civilization versus barbarism, or Good versus Evil, the battle is joined. Call it what you will, we are in a war, and if you haven’t already, you had better choose which side you are going to align yourself with. Choosing not to align with either side is the same as choosing to align yourself with “Sauron”—who delights in apathy, or cowardice disguised to look like moral integrity.

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