dragongirlG, there's a certain resonance in your words - "In Middle Earth, we could trust Gandalf. But in real life, there are no Gandalfs." - and that in effect summarises the in-applicability of LotR as an ethical guidebook.
You also pose the question -
"Would you show pity and mercy to a serial killer just because someone you loved and trusted told you that he would save the world? To Timothy McVeigh (if he was still living) or Jack the Ripper?"
Good question. And it comes back to the apparent conflict between mercy and justice. "An eye for an eye" is not mercy. Revenge is not mercy. And, sometimes, justice is not mercy. Mercy is more than just "doing the right thing". It is about consciously and deliberately acting to reduce the suffering of another.
And, importantly, mercy should not depend on 'knowing that that he/she would save the world'. As you say, in real life, we rarely have that luxury of knowing. And a genuine act of mercy (or altruism, or heroism), doesn't have that ego-payoff ... "I let him go, and he saved the world, so in a way I saved the world!". An old axiom that Tolkien might have approved of holds sway here - 'virtue is its own reward'.
Can we always find it within ourselves to be merciful? Like Maril says, the small things that only you know about are important too. It's no use fantasizing about heroically sacrificing yourself to save the world. This stuff starts at home - and unlike Galadriel, we all 'fail the test' from time to time ... sometimes you have be merciful to yourself too (just don't do it again - or get caught [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ). End of sermon.
Peace
PS. Thanks for sharing your writing, dgG - very impressive, keep it up! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: Kalessin ]
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