One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings
Middle Earth had its Mount Doom, into which the One Ring of Power could be tossed, ridding that evil from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional setting. Real Earth is not so fortunate, but in all other aspects the lessons drawn from his classic apply. It only comes up short in one respect. Tolkien never delved into the psychology of Sauron, Saruman, and the lessor denizens of Middle Earth who lusted after the One Ring’s power, other than to depict the inevitable corruption of the soul their lust produced.
There are two conclusions uncorrupted souls have difficulty accepting, although both experience and logic point uncompromisingly towards them. The first is that those in power and those who lust for it want power for power’s sake, ultimately to destroy and kill. The second is that they want to destroy and kill because they want to destroy existence and kill themselves. We owe the first conclusion to Orwell, the second to Rand. (For a fuller explanation see “The Last Gasp,” Robert Gore, SLL, March 24, 2020.)
This article assumes both conclusions are well-founded and that the second in particular is the key to understanding where the world is now and where it’s going. They offer a realistic assessment of the chances for nuclear Armageddon.
It is no coincidence that the twentieth century witnessed history’s most totalitarian regimes and its bloodiest wars and genocides. By all indications the twenty-first century will extend the connected trends. Power goes hand-in-hand with destruction and death. Governments are based on their capacity to inflict violence; what else can they produce? Rejecting lofty rhetoric and revolutionary rationales, Orwell wrote that: Power is not a means; it is an end. The twentieth century demonstrated that power is a means to inflict incalculable destruction and death. Know them by their fruits—those are the true ends of those who seek and hold power.
An outstanding analysis. Let us hope Russia and China are not as bent on self-annihilation as our own tyrannical despots.
Yes, excellent article, yet the Fins apparently want to jump on the band wagon to destruction. The west seems to have lost its collective mind!
“In which case only God can save humanity. Let us hope in his justice, compassion, and wisdom he gives our species, woefully deficient in all three, one more chance.”
Are we not told, warned: If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
These days are not shortened by man, nor mankind. i believe we can see and know how our Creator will shorten these days. ‘True’ repentance is needed, Our works will not save us!