[Finwe]

Mans, you said in one of your earlier posts that it didn't matter what Tolkien thought. Since when do the Creator's thoughts not affect his creation? Tolkien created Middle-earth, so naturally his views would influence it.

You say that Numenor reached its pinnacle after it severed relations with the Elves. Just what pinnacle do you speak of? Would you consider sacrificing countless innocent humans, reaching a pinnacle? Would you call tearing apart families in the name of land and country, a pinnacle? If that is the epitome of perfection, then I would much rather live under the influence of the Elves, the so-called "blockers" of development.

You claim that the Elves' desire to preserve what they viewed as beautiful just impeded the development of the rest of Middle-earth. Take a look at the situation that they were in. Would you have done any different? If you were a superior race, coming to a new land, full of new dangers and new races, with nothing but your heart and your will to guide you, what would you do? If you wanted to raise a family, would you not want to provide the most stable home for them? All they did was stabilize their surroundings. The Elves figured that it was worth taking the risk of impeding progress, to create a safe home for their families and future generations. Is that impeding progress? Is the desire for a safe, secure home impeding progress?

What you perceive as impeding progress, is what I perceive as a simple desire to keep things safe and secure. To raise a family, a healthy, functional family, mind you, you need stable, secure surroundings. The Elves were willing to take the risk of not "progressing," so that they could build secure homes.

Perhaps the way we are brought up in this day and age needs some rethinking, at least it does in my opinion. We are brought up to think that progress should be give top priority, and everything else should be considered later, or never at all. What happened to treasuring Nature? Seeing beautiful, green, thick-leaved forests marred by telephone poles, and torn down to build luxury high-rise apartments brings tears to my eyes. Perhaps it's just me, but I know that Tolkien would have shared in my sentiment. In this age of machinery, we are forgetting the one thing that brought us here, we are forgetting to give the credit where it is due, to Mother Nature. If it weren't for her, none of us would be here. If it weren't for her, humankind wouldn't have even evolved to what it is today. We owe her for making us what we are, and now, how do we pay her back? By mauling and mutilating her.