The significance of the destruction of the Ring

[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

As Men had dominion over their own fate, I feel that it is a critical point that the destruction of the ring was not a destruction of the mythological, but rather a triumph over its negative allure, mirrored in the desire for dominance and power. You could say that the ring drew its power from the baser instincts of human nature (one reason it had no influence over Tom Bombadil, as he had no desire for power in the first place). Since it's predicted that man is to participate in the next song, the mending of Arda, it makes sense that man would first have to be able to 'mend' their own faults. Something they would uniquely have the capacity to do, however unlikely, as masters of their own fate, theirs a blank slate in the original song of Arda.

If the Valar intervene in the affairs of men, they will tie men back into the original song, by which they themselves are bound.

I suspect the next song is going to sound like Stravinsky, with many discords and sudden shifts of tempo, and unexpected glory.

-Maril