Guarding from evil things folk that are heedless

The theme at Goat Rope lately is things from The Lord of the Rings that are totally realistic and relevant to working for social justice. This is installment #3. I have often thought about how much misery has been prevented by uncelebrated and unknown people who without fanfare do a lot of good and/or keep a lot of bad things from happening. They may be this schoolteacher or that old lady who sits on her porch and keeps an eye on the neighborhood or any number of people who work behind the scenes and away from the cameras. Every time I read the trilogy, things jump out at me that I missed before. I was particularly struck this time by the mostly unnamed Rangers of the North (Aragorn was their chief). These are looked down upon as discreditable vagrants by respectable people in the books, yet as the old and wise Tom Bombadil tells the hobbits,

"Few now remember them...yet some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."

The great writer George Eliot, aka Mary Anne Evans, expressed the same idea at the end of Middlemarch:

"...the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

So here's to the unknown Rangers of our world, walking in loneliness and faithfully living a hidden life. Without them, we'd be a whole lot worse off.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING STANDARD OF LIVING discussed here. RIGHT WING DEMOCRACY CORRUPTING BILLIONAIRE SELF PITY discussed here. A BOGEY-WOMAN OF THE RIGHT, poverty advocate and frequent Glenn Beck Target Frances Fox Piven, speaks here. GOOD DOG! Here's a survival story from Japan about how a 12 year old Shih Tzu saved its 83 year old owner from the tsunami. GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Goodnight, Moon

If you got out any over the weekend, especially Saturday night, you probably couldn't help but notice the giant moon. Scientists say this was the biggest full moon in 18 years. All's I know is, when the Spousal Unit and I took a walk in the dark, the moonlight was bright enough to cast a shadow.

It so happened that the Big Moon coincided with said Unit's birthday, although any connection between that blessed event and word associations involving "lunacy" or "lunatic" are purely coincidental. As far as I can scientifically prove.

Looking at the big shining thing made me wonder what life on earth would be like without it being there to shake things up. Would there even be any? That question is above my pay grade.

Another thought that came to mind was the frequent association between full moons and strange behavior that many people who deal with the public swear by. I've heard that this isn't the case, statistically speaking, but no amount of number crunching will convince some folks I know.

Finally, I thought of a line by the medieval Japanese Zen master Dogen, who said, "Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet , nor is the water broken."

MEANWHILE, there's Libya.

RECOVERING FROM DISASTER. E.J. Dionne is betting on Japan.

ONE GOOD GAZETTE OP-ED, like this one on fundamentalism of various kinds, deserves another, like this one on gardening.

RIGHT WING TARGET: Elizabeth Warren.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Makes me think

Somebody throw this guy a bone. This is Poseidon, the Greek god in charge of earthquakes and things like tsunamis.

A few years ago, I listened to an unabridged recording of Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. It was a "Holy ****!" moment for me. I had been focused for a long time on basic economic justice issues to the extent that I hadn't really paid enough attention to environmental and ecological issues and how they can impact human life.

Recently, I went back and read the book in print form, something which made even my pal Ken Ward at Coal Tattoo raise his eyebrows. I particularly enjoyed the parts about the Vikings this time around, if "enjoyed" is the right word to use in reading about societies that fall apart (this may or may not have anything to do with the ongoing series here on Beowulf). I was really struck, again, by so many examples of societies that seemed to thrive for a time only to decline.

The recent disasters in Japan are a reminder to me of just how vulnerable complex societies are from unexpected (not to mention expected but ignored) threats. If anything, Japan is much more prepared, both technically and socially, to deal with disasters than the US, and the dangers there are huge.

It makes me think.

THIS on that.

THIS EXPLAINS EVERYTHING. Glenn Beck has suggested that God may have sent the disaster to Japan and that this could have something to do with the Ten Commandments. It occurs to me, however, that crime statistics and cultural factors suggest that the Japanese are doing better than the US these days in terms of not killing, not stealing, and honoring thy father and mother.

AFGHANISTAN. According to a new poll, nearly two thirds of Americans think the war there isn't worth the cost.

LIBYA is the theme of the latest edition of Notes from Under the Fig Tree from the Rev. Jim Lewis.

GET THE TO A DOGGERY. Here's yet another article on the health benefits of having a dog. If you walk them, that is.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Alice Day

Note: we interrupt Goat Rope's regularly scheduled programming for the following breaking news:

Today, March 14, 2011, will be eternally celebrated in the annals of culture. Or maybe not. In any case, one of the idols of my junior high years will be officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I am referring, of course, to Alice Cooper, who was one of three stars in my early adolescent firmament. The other two were Bruce Lee and J.R.R. Tolkien. What can I say--I had good taste back then.

At the time, I loved the irreverence expressed in lyrics like School's Out:

Well we can't salute ya
Can't find a flag
If that don't suit ya
That's a drag

Unlike those who would follow, the father of Shock Rock didn't take himself too seriously, as can be seen in the following lines from the same song:

Well we got no class
And we got no principles
And we got no innocence
We can't even think of a word that rhymes

I went to see him with a friend once when he came to Charleston. My friend, more enterprising than me, bought a poster and forged an autograph from it that he showed off all over school the next few days. And if I was ever lucky enough to get a back stage pass to one of his concerts, like Wayne and Garth did in the movie Wayne's World, I probably would have come close to hurling myself.

I haven't followed his career that closely beyond the years that I first took sustenance from them, but that was enough. Happy Rock Day, Alice!

OKINAWA DREAMING. When news came of the horrific earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, I thought at once of Okinawa and the people I had met there last spring. The island is more than 1,000 miles south of the epicenter and was spared the worst. According to a friend in touch with the situation there, there was only a tidal wave about about 12 inches and some disruption of cell phone service. My thoughts still go out to those lost in the disaster and those still at risk, both from the natural cataclysms and the danger of nuclear meltdowns and contamination.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, here are some reflections on the destructive capacity of water.

WHO'S BROKE? E.J. Dionne talks sense about deficits and budgets here.

SOLIDARITY. Depending on whom you talk to, several hundred to over 1,000 people rallied at the WV State Capitol this weekend in solidarity with workers in Wisconsin. Here is coverage from the Gazette and WV Metro News. Late last week, the WV House of Delegates passed a measure supporting public employees in that state.

SPEAKING OF THE LEGISLATURE, I'd better pass, lest I say things that may come back to bite me someplace. I might, for instance, speculate about whether racism is alive and well in the state senate and it wouldn't be prudent to do that (although some recent happenings there make me go hmmmm).

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED