Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: "Ask Ann Landers" (3)
Frodo has asked for this opportunity to speak to the American people, and particularly to the fairer sex. There is a point that needs to be made, and it needs to be made in the spirit of moving forward in the collective effort to destroy the Ring, and to bring peace to all the Citizens of Middle Earth. The point can simply be called "Getting It." Frodo's words, brief may they be, follow in their entirety.
The people of the United States of America respect the law.
Why else would nearly all of all these people voluntarily file and pay taxes each and every year? They know that taxes are a very small price to pay for liberty, and for truth, and for justice.
Why else would mothers stand and watch their sons and daughters march off to a jungle or a desert a million miles away knowing they may never return? They know that sacrifice is something for which a mother must prepare, because the country must survive.
Why else would an entire generation ration themselves and not partake of such luxury items as automobile tires and sugar? They were keenly aware that everyone must contribute if victory is to be achieved, and peace is to prevail.
Why else would people sit at lunch counters seeking service when they knew that all they would receive would be physical and emotional abuse? They knew what the law required, and they were willing to suffer to see that it was applied to all, equally.
Respect for the law; not following orders blindly, just recognizing that we are all in this together, and that we have to know that the guy next door will do his job too!
That, dear reader, is the point that is missed in the latest flurry of political diatribe. That is the point that is missed, not only by George W. Bush, but by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and, Frodo supposes, by Eliot Spitzer.
There are 12 million people in America who did not follow the law. Perhaps, in their place, Frodo may have done exactly as they have done. The point remains that it is antithetical to suggest, in even the most rational manner, that it is okay for so many to abuse the law, when so many have given so much to put those laws into place.
The politicians, nearly all of whom drop their heads to catch the latest breeze blowing across the electoral landscape, had better realize that this is a pivotal point for those who pay taxes, who sacrifice sons, daughters, safety, and opportunity in order to make this part of Middle Earth secure for all those who follow. These people will not tolerate 12 million breaking the law, without consequence. The politician who does not recognize this point does not "get it."
Perhaps, if Frodo were running as a candidate for political office, he might have taken a similar position. If that were so, he would subsequently realize why he got his ass kicked when the election results were all tallied.
