Ngl, reading Lord of the Rings to my kids today hits very different from when I read it myself as a kid.

A recurring theme is that the elves and dwarves are in terminal decline, with their kingdoms defeated or abandoned in the face of barbarism (the orcs) or returning to wilderness due to fertility-related population shrinkage.

This is contrasted with the realms of Men, where for all their challenges, they multiply and are not a receding force.

As a kid in the 1990s, the message to me was that Tolkien was foreshadowing a world that would ultimately be tamed and civilized by Men as the elves and dwarves faded into legend. At several points in LotR and The Hobbit, the elves imply as much.

Reading them now, though, it’s tough not to see that the modern world shares a lot of the challenges of the elves and dwarves. Leaders are largely backward looking, leaning into past achievements, and isolationist.

And of course we are failing to have enough children, just like the elves, dwarves, and especially the Ents.

I like to think we’re more like the realms of Men. They need to get their shit together, some are fighting for Mordor, and are often pretty petty and selfish - but at the end of the day, they have a drive to not just live in the ruins of their ancestors and push forward to tame and settle all the dark and dangerous world.

It’s worth (re)reading just for fun before the movies turn 25 in a couple months!