Lessons for World Leaders and Teens from Tolkien¹s Epic

Emmett Wiser

Terrorism is testing the values of western culture like never before. As civilian populations from Baghdad and Jerusalem to London and New York face indiscriminate bombing from the skies and the streets, the temptation to answer terror with terror is always present.

The earth¹s early cultures used epic tales to uphold their values and engender courage in hard times. J.R.R. Tolkien¹s The Lord of the Rings is one such tale for our times. Its characters embody qualities that sustain and uphold in the face of evil: loyalty, simplicity of heart, wisdom, compassion, and the humility of true leadership. Tolkien’s trilogy also warns strongly against the temptation to use naked power in the cause of ³good,² telling of those who succumbed and those who overcame.

A central theme of the saga is the power of loyalty. Loyalty is often thought of as servile obedience to every word of one¹s master, but Tolkien takes it to a deeper level. The foremost example is the hobbit, Samwise Gamgee. Although originally the gardener at Bag End, Sam regards Frodo as his master, and bears as much of Frodo¹s burden as he possibly can.

When Frodo falls to the spider-like Shelob, Sam has to surrender loyalty to Frodo for a higher loyalty to the Fellowship and to the goal of destroying the Ring. For a few moments Sam thinks of remaining with Frodo, but his simplicity of heart, or ‘hobbit sense,’ guides him to the right choice, resisting the urge to take the Ring for his own purposes. This one decision by one small hobbit not only conquers a temptation that has bent the will of many proud warriors. It ultimately saves the future of Middle Earth.

Sam¹s loyalty reaches its culmination as Frodo¹s strength finally fails on the slopes of Orodruin itself and the weight of the Ring that he carries once more becomes unbearable. Sam carries him up the rugged mountain saying, ‘I can¹t carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well.’

Gandalf, too, is tempted to take the Ring, but he knows the power it would have over him. When Frodo offers it to him as a means of conquering evil, Gandalf cries out:

Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is through pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good.

America today would do well to head Gandalf¹s words. At the height of its global dominance, its leaders have chosen to wield power in the name of ‘good’ and ‘freedom.’ To civilians killed or maimed in Iraq and elsewhere it matters little where the terror originates, or how it is justified.

Old, much traveled, and deeply perceptive, Gandalf comes to the aid of the Fellowship with much wisdom. When Frodo, overwhelmed by the threat that Gollum poses to the lands of Middle Earth, cries out that it is a pity that Bilbo did not stab the vile creature when it was at his mercy, Gandalf replies:

Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he was well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.

Frodo still argues that Gollum is evil, and deserves death. Gandalf counters this by saying:

Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in the name of judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all endsŠ he has some part to play, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the hearts of many‹yours not least.

Gandalf¹s words prove true. Had Bilbo ended Gollum¹s life in the Misty Mountains, the Quest would have failed. Gollum himself, drawn to Frodo by his lust for the Ring, leads the hobbits through leagues of treacherous wilderness, and through a secret pass. Though Gollum proves treacherous in this pass, he rejoins Frodo and Sam on Mt. Doom. As Frodo claims the Ring for his own at the very edge of the crack of doom itself and imperils all of Middle Earth, Gollum fights him and bites off his ring finger. Though he perishes in the fire, it is Gollum who destroys the Ring, not Frodo‹as Frodo readily admits later.

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken:

The crownless again shall be king.

This poem was written about Aragorn, a rugged wanderer whose exterior masks his true character as the rightful King of Gondor, possessing both humility and courage to lead. His humility first shows in the way he lives before the War of the Ring. Although heir to the throne of Gondor, he choses to fight for the safety of the Shire‹in ragged, dirty garb, distrusted and derided by the very folk he is fighting to defend.

Eventually the ragged cloak falls aside, revealing Aragorn¹s kingly nature and his ability to lead the armies of the West towards the Black Gate of Mordor. Readying his men for seemingly doomed battle, he rallies them with words that give them hope:

A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West.

Along with Gandalf, Aragorn is a central pillar of The Lord of the Rings because of his wisdom, humility, and leadership. It was striking to view these leadership qualities on the screen just months after 9/11 and to see, with growing dismay, America¹s arrogance as it decided to ‘go it alone.’ Within a few short years, long-standing alliances have withered and concern for global affairs‹hunger, climate change, excess consumption of scarce resources‹has taken second place. 9/11 was a moment when the sympathy of the world was turned in America¹s direction. That moment has passed, seemingly forever.

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien hits upon the characteristics of human nature that unite, separate, or challenge each one of us. And he tells us that the way through is not to attempt to harness the powers of evil to fight evil, but to look to compassion, wisdom, and humility as our guiding lights.

Reprinted from http://www.bruderhof.com/,