World events show triumph of human spirit against evil
It is time to reread “The Lord of the Rings.” Heroes like Frodo, wizards like Gandalf and Sauron, and titanic armies of men and nature (nature engages in the struggle). Peace cannot be restored until the Ring is destroyed in the mountain where it was forged. But even when this quest is accomplished and the Hobbits return home, they find their land invaded by a hostile force. There is no soft landing here.
It is time to reread this novel to gain some foothold, or mental and emotional handhold, on life in our current world, which differs from Tolkien’s mythical lands mainly in being “real.” The novel offers a kind of grim hope without romanticizing some absolute triumph by “good.”
What triumphs is the human spirit, not one country or another: a way of life that seeks the good but registers and opposes ineradicable evil. To me, it implies that each person can, and should, act heroically to save values that will always struggle, lest doom prevails.
RICKS CARSON, ATLANTA
CNN Ukraine coverage great, but keep personal views out
I congratulate CNN on their on-the-ground coverage of the Russian attack on Ukraine. CNN has always been the “go-to” news channel for events such as this, and the outside subject matter experts CNN uses are often the best available.
However, CNN’s contract “staff experts” routinely compromise their credibility by interjecting their employer’s political agenda.
When CNN starts imposing its leftist political agenda on accurate reporting of the news, it loses credibility. When CNN’s inept talking heads like Jim Acosta, Christiane Amanpour, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper start interjecting their mindless and ignorant personal viewpoints, I simply change the channel to “I Love Lucy” reruns.
Oh, how I miss the old CNN.
ERNEST WADE, LOGANVILLE
