Hobbits Made the Shire

And the Shire Made the Hobbits

I had a super enjoyable time listening to the podcast of

Phisto Sobanii

and

Alexandru Constantin

earlier today. Seriously, go listen to it.

Episode 13: Shirestack Discourse

However, near the end Alex had something I want to push back against a bit, and build on. Because I like these guys, and it gets into some of the stuff that they talk about that they have against Walt + co.

And that is the idea that he encourages all hobbits to leave the Shire.

You see, that would be a shame.

Because it’s the Shire that makes the Hobbits what they are, and the Hobbits that make the Shire what it is.

If all the Hobbits were Bilbo, they would understand and know the outside world. In all its evils, all its allures, all its temptations.

All its tasty foods.

All the sights and sounds.

They’d get a taste for things that were not of the Shire, as Bilbo does.

They would want to mimic the Elves’ poetry

And maybe some of the Dwarves clothes.

Maybe they would think that their care free way of living, compared to the dwarves, is too much. Who needs that many meals, after all? We just went on this adventure and were fine without!

So, gone with the meals!

And hey! Gandalf. That guy is a super big man important. He’s not just a fireworks guy that comes around every now and then. It’s not just fun and games when he’s around. He can topple empires and mountains.

I hope you can see where I’m going.

Because, you see; it is the bounty of the dirt they live on, and the land below them (or above when they’re at home!) that made the Hobbits such good Folk! Such amazing, beautiful, wonderful people that we get a bare glimpse of, and are outraged at the burning of the Shire.

Now, we see the need of Bilbo, Samwise, Frodo, and the gang to leave this ideal place.

But, if one looks upon the story with love, one should see the tragedy there, in that need, as well.

And this gets us to the Vitalist movement, and some of my frustrations with it.

They would see the strength of Frodo and Bilbo afterwards, and call it a good, with nothing lost.

To give another example of a story, from modern times, we’ll bring up the show Breaking Bad. You see, there’s something wrong with the modern man’s love for looking at, learning from, and being enamored with the break down of society. The anti-hero. Breaking Bad is a series I watched before my conversion to Catholicism, and I’ve watched it all the way through.

Most people like it for the Protagonist, Walter White, and his journey.

I would argue that, if there is a redemption to make the show worth watching, the hero of the show is the fat ass cop, Hank, learning to grow a pair and go after Walter. Walter has sold his soul, and the lesson is that there are bad people when society breaks down, they get desperate, and that you, even if you’re a fat ass cop, should be Hank.

You should save your Polity, no matter what, because it is yours.

It is the same with people’s obsession with the book 48 Laws of Power. Edison is often what I’ll call “the protagonist” in it, but Tesla is the Hero pushing science and discovery forward. The lesson is to not be taken advantage of by Edison, to not be naive like Tesla, but to have Tesla’s love, knowledge, and skills.

The vitalist movement, people like Walt and Arcto, have no Shire.

They have no Dirt to hold on to.

They have no principles to ground them.

They just want to be protagonists, damn it! And screw being a hero as long as I can change the world to meet my will! And I will my opinion made flesh! I will not serve!

That, as far as I can see, is what it is, all the way down.

The Shire, or Walter White. Someone who will do anything if backed into a corner.

And this, dear friends, is why I keep advocating a Polis on the other stack.

Because we might not be hobbits, and we might not find a Shire.

But we’ll find some dirt.

And who knows what it will make of us, and what we’ll make of it.

How exciting is that!?