“I do not expect ‘history’ to be anything but a ‘long defeat’ — though it contains some samples or glimpses of final victory.” This was J.R.R Tolkien’s philosophy on history; a large amount of pessimism with an underlying message of hope.
As a fanatic of history and a scholar of the English language, Tolkien understood history, and he understood humans.
Today, we are more socially aware of all citizens; we provide services for those who need them, and historical events like the civil rights movement, and the fall of the Berlin Wall, seem to show we are moving towards justice and a better overall moral compass. Yet the FBI found that the number of “active shooting” incidents more than doubled from 2000 to 2015 and continues to grow.
Racism and ignorance are still alive in our country. According to the Pew Research Center, Republicans and Democrats are more divided than at any point in recent history. The Evangelical Covenant Church reports that only 17.7 percent of America’s population attended a Christian church on any given weekend.
Our morality isn’t improving at all, but deteriorating. All past issues America has faced are still relevant. Although technology has sometimes been used to help humanity, it also worsens the severity of these issues. New York Behavior Health has seen social media have a negative impact on social skills in children and young adults. Social media can lead to cyberbullying which can cause depression, anxiety, and can even lead to suicide.
With this view of society, it is reasonable to think that the story of humanity ends in “defeat.” The complete destruction of us physically, spiritually, intellectually, and morally. But as Tolkien says, there are signs of hope in our world, however faint they may be. People like Mahatma Gandhi worked to teach peace and love in a contradicting world, as well as those he inspired, like Martin Luther King Junior, who said, “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
We suspect that if we were ever to advance morally, it would be because society would learn the importance of loving in the face of hate. We would put others before ourselves and find sympathy for each other. It would be because we put down all the distractions of modern society and forced our leaders to truly represent us and our ideals. Only then will we find peace in a disorderly world.