2020 Significant?

@hartfire Oh come on!

@RainontheMoon Ah, well, it seems we have different perspectives on how we see the world.
I'm a writer. I understand Tolkien on the level of language, archetypal myth and symbolism.

But I do not see a Mordor in this world, nor a magical ring of evil that can only be destroyed by the molten magma of the Earth, nor hobbits, magicians, orcs, ents, elves, dwarves (of the mythic variety), and certainly no such thing as magic.

We have a renewed nuclear arms race, plural cold wars escalating, terrorism, worldwide pollution in all environments, global warming, mass extinctions of wildlife, a pandemic, populations in some places suffering permanent and chronic starvation, the rich getting much richer (especially the monopolies and multinationals), and in all countries dire increases in levels of poverty and the numbers affected. But none of these is anything like the scenarios in Tolkien.

So I find your post interesting precisely because I don't understand it.

I am trying to invite you to have a conversation, to share with me, so that I can understand your point of view.

If you choose not to, then I accept that that is your right.

@hartfire No, there is no Mordor or magical ring of evil or hobbits ect.
I was simply reading the book and this year's pandemic suddenly came to mind because of the phrasing. I do see a world in peril with people in grief world wide through loss of loved ones but still holding together through love of family. And of course the many other things you have mentioned going on in the world but I was in no way comparing the scenarios in Tolkien. It was simply just a thought and nothing dramatic.

@RainontheMoon Understood. Thanks for sharing that.
The book really is amazing in its scope, and very well written.
And I believe it is in the nature of life and fallibility that there will always, alas, be suffering in the world.
Only its details fluctuate.