Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. — Fellowship of the Ring

My Take – The decision to defend yourself is one that must be done with a lot of thought beforehand.  Can you live with the consequences of harming another, even if they are intent on harming you?

Wars are not favourable to delicate pleasures. — A Secret Vice

My Take – I was not a front-line soldier.  If I had stayed in, I would probably have been classified as a ‘fobbit’.   I only saw the remnants of battles.  On one occasion, I saw the human suffering a mortar barrage can bring in a very up close and personal way.  On several other occasions, I came across evidence that places that were blasted, burned, run over, or just plain screwed up were once beautiful communities.  Those who thought that the military was polished boots, PT at dawn, and weekends off to go wandering the Bavarian countryside had an awful time dealing with what happens when the god of battle awakens.

Too many of the people I have met think that war is like a video game or a movie.  They cannot conceive that there is nothing glamorous or glorious in what remains once the battle is over.  People do not simply fall over and then disappear on a real battlefield.  Soldiers and civilians who are hurt but survive can spend years recovering.  Beautiful places that have stood for centuries can be destroyed in minutes, and they don’t magically rebuild because someone hit a reset button.  Getting the idea across that war is an ugly thing that should be the option that is exercised after all other options have failed is one of the hardest things I do.

‘How shall a man judge what to do in such times?’   ‘As he ever has judged,’ said Aragorn. ‘Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves, and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.’ — The Two Towers

My Take – Conflict and bad times do not change what is right and what is wrong.  I hope that my ethics and morals are strong enough that when things get tough, I will not compromise them in order to make life easier.  Taking the hard right over the easy wrong doesn’t just apply when it’s easy to do.  It’s even more important when it’s hard to do.

The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater. — Fellowship of the Ring

My Take – I talk a lot of doom and gloom around here.  There seems to be a lot of that going around these days, but to be honest, the world has always been ending.  The point of being prepared, of standing up for what’s yours, and defending that which you value is to keep the bright and sunny spots in life there for you when you need them.  The world is indeed awash in blood and tears, but it is also awash in joy and song.  Concentrating on the bad things in life for too long makes a person pessimistic and unable to see the good that the world contains.

Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer. — Forward to The Lord of the Rings

My Take – Sometimes, telling your critics to go consummate a relationship with an ungulate is a wonderful thing to do.  Doing it eloquently is a bonus.

One of the things I do when I go to see a movie or read a book is see if one of the critics I usually disagree with hated it.  Normally that works better than trying the things that people who agree with me like.

No language is justly studied merely as an aid to other purposes. It will in fact better serve other purposes, philological or historical, when it is studied for love, for itself.

My Take – Learn because you enjoy the subject, and it will be more useful than anything you studied because you had to. Even in situations that seem totally unrelated, the skills you earn will apply.

Many of those trees were my friends creatures I had known from nut and acorn; many had voices of their own that are lost for ever now. And there are wastes of stump and bramble where once there were singing groves. I have been idle. I have let things slip. It must stop! — The Two Towers

My Take – Where is your line in the sand?  Where is your “Jews in the attic” point?  At what moment does the danger and uncertainty of action in the face of adversity become less costly than the certainty of harm from inaction?

Those who believe that the government has gone too far have been attacked for decades, and the lambasting both by the press and this administration has been particularly sharp.  Our rights, our financial future, and the prosperity of our children and their children are at stake, and those who oppose us are either stupid, despicable, or both.  The time to act is now.

I am up on my soap box, trying to convince as many as will listen that there our ship is headed toward a reef.  I have been in a jury box, trying to find a way to chart a course between “legal” and “just”.  I have put votes into the ballot box and will do so again soon.  I pray that my cartridge box stays closed, but it is well-stocked and handy.

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. — Fellowship of the Ring

My Take – No-one knows how life will go, or where we will end up. What may seem insurmountable today may seem inconsequential tomorrow. Losing hope because you can’t see a way forward short changes both you and those who endure with you. Maybe you won’t come out of whatever it is without a few scars, but you can get through it.