ME's advantages

Imaging that somebody asked you about the Middle-Earth’s advantages. What would you tell about it (comparing the world of ME with our modern world)?

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Middle-earth did not have a trash celebrity culture, unlike my part of Earth.

[Knight of Gondor]

Oo, ditto, Eomer! Of course, since some of that culture belongs to the actors who were in LotR, and vice-versa, that's what makes it sad.

I said it first, as far as I know, but Miranda Otto said something similar when asked what she'd learned from her experience on the cast of LotR.

Miranda - "'Lord of the Rings' reveres things I think society is aching to go back to [such as] honor, loyalty and dignity - qualities we tend to forgo so quickly for money. If someone says, 'I'll give you $200 if you take your clothes off and run around the block,' a lot of people will do it."

That sums it up for me. Don't get on me for saying this, but we don't have politics (not that it's all bad...), or political correctness, or war protesters (except Grima) or such. Chivalry, and nobility - two lost concepts in a world of being "metrosexual" and whatnot. (Or why else do people thank me in surprise for getting the door for them?)

[Elennar Starfire]

Air pollution. Well, pollution in general. Middle-Earth would be much less polluted. Where I live we recently had really bad air pollution, so bad they wouldn't let elementary school kids outside for recess. It gave me the worst sore throat I can remember ever having. And it made me sound like Gollum. Nassssty smogsses chokeses usss, precioussss!

[Finwe]

I agree.

I think that part of the appeal of Middle-earth in general is that society reveres honor, loyalty, dignity, and steadfastness. Money doesn't enter into the equation, and if it does, it has a minor role. For example, look at all the reality TV shows that we have, based on rich people's lives. We've got things like Rich Girls that waste hard-earned money on shadowing two spoiled, self-centered rich kids around NYC. We never see TV shows or media spotlights on heroes like Jessica Lynch, because apparently, they're simply not interesting.

[Kransha]

Advantages over Modern-Earth

1: Aesthetics (obviously): I mean, our cities are big, many bigger than any of ME's cities, and many are beautiful to look at. But ME's cities are much more to look upon. I'd rather go to Dol Amroth than JFK Airport if I had to take a long journey. I'd rather go to Lothlorien than some wildlife preserve. I'd rather go to Minas Tirith than pretty much anywhere. The sheer epic wonder of ME far outweighs our own. Only the most gargantuan earthly cities, like NYC, Moscow, Rome, London, and Paris can compare.

The People: Think about it, people in New York City will mug and rob you, people in Bree might rob you too, but they'll do it with that Breelander style. Walking down the street, i'd rather see a charming hobbit lad than a businessman blabbing on a cell phone. In a secure building, who wants to see a police-outfited security guard with a pistol when you could just stare at those stunningly-garbed Citadel Guard in Minas Tirith. Elves, dwarves, and hobbits are a welcome sight for my eyes.

I have more, but Carpal Tunnel syndrome is eating away at me, so I'll type them up later.

I'm absolutely agree with Eomer of the Rohirrim and Knight of Gondor. Lots of people live for money and celebrity. They forgot about simple but very important things.

Air pollution is one of the most serious problem of our world. And this is a consequence of modern people's values. They want to become more and more rich and don't think about ways of achieving wealth.

Kransha, ofcourse the world of ME is not ideal. It has defectes too but not that wide as our modern world has.

I have one more advantage - it is a War. There were no wars in the ME with such a fearful and huge influence on descendants and nature as we got in the 20th centure, for example. I think this is very important and serious - when you make a war - it must be a war of your ages, your generation, and after its end new people don't have to be in pain with polluted air, vicious water and ill animals and trees.
Tolkien taught us don't lose the connection with alive nature. I think it is very wisdom and it is important for the world existance.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 10:30 PM February 01, 2004: Message edited by: Sangal ]

[Isowen]

Middle Earth has everything we lack. They have no order in society, which is good because then nobody gets their feelings hurt.
It has no racism, except from the Nazgul when they aclled Arwen a she-elf! That's an insult, right? (I suppose you could call that racism)
It has no damn money-corrupted government.
There is less dispute over who gets what and who's right and wrong etc.
I guess you could say that ME is more organised and arranged better, society-wise.

[Rimbaud]

I think there would be a real awakening for a contemporary real world chap or chappess experiencing ME. The lack of things we take for granted would be shocking to most: hygiene, medicine, running water etc.

In particular, the standard of hygiene and medical care et al would be the elements with which I could not cope. Assuming that Tolkien's medieval-Europe-a-like world is consistent, we have to imagine a world without anaesthetics or what we woudl consider rudimentary medical practices. The difficulty in finding and maintaining a source of clean water would also be difficult.

Someone above mentions the benefits of living in a world of honour and decency. You have to look at both sides of the coin. Life in much of ME, particularly outside of Elven/Hobbit communities would be a world of rough justice and survival of the fittest. A sickly person? Short sighted? Strange looking? These societies would be much less tolerant of diversity and physical weaknesses would be hugely difficult to cope with, to an even greater extent than is true in the real world.

Want to be a writer? A painter? In fact, want to be able to read? You couldn't take these things for granted at all. It might seem a world of freedom compared with today, but that is a lazy misconception. It would be a hard and probably brief struggle. Raising a family for instance would be incredibly hard work (not that it is easy today, necessarily). Think how many children would be lost at childbirth and in infancy.

Don't think the world you live in is as bad as all that, for most people. Particularly us blessed folks with the time and the riches to spend time on a computer, talking with the world about books we love.

Finé

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I was waiting for one sensible person to swing the thread over!

However, there are people in our world who live in just such conditions. The people who live their lives in the jungles of South America do not know what they're 'missing', why would they be sad that they have no running water or whatever. They have never experienced anything other than their own lives.

So it is true that if we were suddenly lobbed into Middle-earth we'd be slightly off balance and more than a little queasy, but that's not really how I imagined the original question.

And as for intolerance, rimbaud, I have had too many bad experiences in this world to be worried about the intolerance of Middle-earth. (My pessimism really shines through in these threads!)

[haltred]

Middle Earth values much that this earth has forgotten about honour , decencey ,loyalty to others. OK in some ways it would be harder life than we have here and now >BUT then no harder than say our great great grandparents . And some of the ME problems, Sauron for instance are unique well maybe not if one looks at some of the villians of the 20th century.