WeeklyMusings - Too Much of a Bad Thing

WeeklyMusings © - “Too Much of a Bad Thing”

It was my custom in the months and years prior to the new millennium to gather my thoughts each week and attempt to put into specific language the swirling content of my mind. I came to call these expositions my WeeklyMusings. Events in the life of our great nation call me back to the task once more. Perhaps in these pages I can contribute some small part to the dialogue…

“The Lord of the Rings”, J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece opens with a dappled mare pulling a cart down a well-worn country path. In the light of that sunny day we are introduced to characters I fondly recall from my youth. Seated on the cart is dear Gandalf the Wise. Soon he will call on young master Frodo in that most idyllic of settings, the Shire.

I love the Shire. I love the sunshine, and the rolling hills. I love the gardens, small paths carved by ponies and bare feet. I love the smell of fresh cut grass, of baking bread, and even the slow scent of pipe smoke blown in gentle puffs onto the breeze. It is a tranquil picture of domesticity, of quiet moments and friendly visits. How I wish I could raise my family in the peace of the Shire.

So, I sit tonight in a quiet room with a stopped clock and a fireplace that is always ready to receive a log. I sit down deep in a soft sofa, wrapped in a wool sweater that Gandalf would have reached for in his study had Mr. Tolkien thought to write him one. I sit here and contemplate whether my children and my wife will ever feel the innocent surety of a Shire life. I sit here and write of these things while my fellow citizens bleed on a battlefield across the sea and my brothers at home spend restless nights watching evil men plot evil deeds.

Is the dream of the Shire incompatible with the reality of modern man? Can such a place of peace and simple prosperity exist in a world torn by religion and resource scarcity? Am I merely delaying the inevitable call to arms and will one day soon yield to duty and like Cincinnatus of Rome, or perhaps even Frodo, go and fight, forsaking the labors I love for the most detestable of toils?

I came closer today than I have in many months to signing on for a tour of duty. Men are dying in the uniform of our nation.

I did not ever vote for George Bush. I wrote letters to my representatives in Congress, to the Senators from our Commonwealth, and to others urging that they resist what I perceived to be an unnecessary war.

In my humble opinion Mr. Bush was unfit for office due to a lack of executive experience and a history of poor judgment. He lacked the foreign policy experience and liberal education required of a global leader. But, elections have consequences, and if a democracy (or democratic republic) is to survive we must honor the results of elections. I was against the war, but like the election we must stand united once a decision is made or we are doomed to fall.

War is evil. It is always evil. But, sometimes evil is required for survival. The trouble with this war is not that we are losing, though it seems obvious that we are. The trouble is that this war was not required for survival. The consequences of voting for incompetence are now being showered upon us all.

We brought down a government of tyrants in a land of hatred. They are killing one another in the name of a fairy tale. They believe that God will reward them for their sacrifice, for their murders. They believe that it is preferable to exchange violence rather than compromise. They are never going to live in the Shire.

From where we are now I see no path that leads us to peace. These people are barbaric and beneath our contempt. So to those in this nation that would replace reason with religion, science with superstition. Our society is an opportunity for humanity. We are blessed by the bounty of nature and history and can make of ourselves nearly any truth we desire.

I long for the Shire; for a people of peace, learning, community, and tea. I am not a luddite. Far from a technophobe, I embrace the promise of modern technology as a way out of our many challenges. But while technology may solve energy needs, it will not solve the great human need to live in tolerance and peace.

Tolerance is not a lack of judgment, rather it is a willingness to accept the differences of others and to refrain from judging their personhood. But, tolerance does not require abdication of freedom and defense of one’s liberty.

My fellow citizens it is time for the United States of America to let Iraq fight for Iraq. It is time to bring our brothers and sisters home. It is time to spend the taxes raised in this nation on the future of this nation. We should be building schools here until they learn to build bridges there.