[Mnemosyne]

Bethberry, I believe, mentioned "planned obsolescence," which is for me a huge reason why the old that is strong does not wither in this day and age. Because economies are so consumption-based, one has to buy the same thing over and over again to keep all of these stuff-producers in work. It's actually in manufacturers' best interests to create technology that will conk out one day after the warranty expires, just so that you'll buy a new one. I am clinging desperately to my grandmother's old ice-cream scoop (which was mass-produced, but in those days when mass-produced ice-cream scoops were new and thuse could afford to be of a good quality), which has lasted nigh on fifty years. You're lucky if the store-bought ones last six months. Because things are so cheap and abundant, quality doesn't matter anymore, which I think is the Hordes of Darkness' side of things: Really Really Awesome Weapons are unnecessary if you've got enough brute force to overwhelm the good guys. We can't forget that even with such heroic figures as Aragorn & co. the West would have been screwed without Frodo and the Ring.

The other thing about modern firearms is their great "equalizing" effect. In order to be proficient at the sword or the bow, you had to spend hours upon hours of training, have great physical strength, etc. But a firearm creates all of that power for you, which is great news for a petite like me. All I have to do is know how to aim, hold steady, and not jerk the trigger; laser sighting makes the "aim" step even easier. Suddenly anyone can kill anyone, and there's no more need for these great heroic figures who can fight for a day on the Pelennor and come out mostly unscathed.

The ease of cheaply-made, available-for-all stuff may make our life more convenient, but it's not as fascinating as all those great tales. No wonder all of Tolkien's heroes use old stuff.