After finally reading The Silmarillion this past summer, here's my opinion: Men were supposed to have been created as the favored children of the Grand-High-Poobah-Who-Came-First-And-Whose-Name-I-Have-Sadly-Forgotten. That sounds like the makings of a race of somewhat spoiled brats who think they are the be-all-and-end-all. As can be seen from the example of Isildur of Sauron-killing fame, as well as many modern-day political figures, men (and I do mean [B)men[/B]) can become corrupted or evil too easily when a whole cartload of power is dumped into their laps. In short, men aren't inherently evil, they were just created with too much potential to go down that road. I mean, look at the nazgul! They were probably great guys and at least half-decent kings before Sauron or whoever it was started handing out those darned rings!
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