The Undefended City (Bill Whittle)

NRO ^ | 9/19/08 | Bill Whittle

[Dawnsblood]

When I first got to college, back in the last few weeks of the Seventies, I finally got a chance to see an ordinary game of Dungeons and Dragons. My immediate inclination was to play as a Paladin: the pinnacle of Lawful Good, a character required to dash in and fight overwhelmingly powerful evil forces anywhere and at whatever odds. These contests were short, depressing and hilarious, but all D&D really came down to in the end was slaying small monsters, taking their gold, buying slightly better gear and then slaying slightly larger monsters. Why not just save some time and become a Vorpal Sword distributor? Then you get the weapons and the gold, and people bring them both to you. And so a larval conservative was born. And I never played again.

That was the attitude I took into The Lord of the Rings when the first of the trilogy appeared in 2001, just a few months after the Two Towers actually did fall and the idea of good and evil suddenly became — to me and no doubt to you too — a great deal less ironic and a great deal more real.

And there, in the darkness, staring up at that screen, I marveled at this monumental font of deep and eternal ideas: the aversion to facing danger, even when it is right in front of us; the value of old and true allies; the corrosive force of addiction; responsibility forsaken, then reclaimed… and through it all the fear that we may be lesser sons of greater fathers, and that we may no longer have the courage or the will to defend the City entrusted to our care.

[Dawnsblood]

This one meanders a bit but is an interesting read.

[fieldmarshaldj]

He lost me at Dungeons & Dragons.

[marron]

Thank you for posting this excellent piece.

[Josh Painter]

Try again. It’s worth the effort. Bill Whittle is the best, hand down.

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

And by reminding ourselves and those around us of who we are, where we came from, what we have achieved together and of the marvels we have yet to achieve, we may laugh in the face of despair and mock those people that think a man with an MBA from Harvard knows more about running a gas station than the man that actually runs the gas station.

Hell yeah!

[backhoe]

Thank you for bringing this to out attention- Bill Whittle is always worth reading.

[Illuminatas]

But it is certainly so today. And standing against all this hypnotic power — the power of the mythmakers in Hollywood, the power of the information peddlers in the media, the corrosive power of America-hating professors on every campus in America… against all that we find an old warrior — a paladin if ever there was one — an old, beat-up warhorse standing up in defense of his city one last time. And beside him: a wonder. A common person… just a regular mom who goes to work, does a difficult job with intelligence and energy and grace and every-day competence and then puts it away to go home and have dinner with the family.

Holy Crap. I love this guy. I would use this as a tag line but it's a little long.

[yldstrk]

You stopped tooearly then, lightweight.

[Stentor]

Bump.

[Skid Marx]

Nope,every word needs to be read again,and then once more. Whittle is the best essayist out there. We are blessed to have him with us.

[Crim]

Nothing wrong with AD&D...played it for years....most of those peeps I played with are now conservatives...

[hinckley buzzard]

in 2001, just a few months after the Two Towers actually did fall and the idea of good and evil suddenly became — to me and no doubt to you too — a great deal less ironic and a great deal more real.

Good and evil--"ironic?" Who is this f*ing jackass--some pimply-faced highschool Harry who sees the world through the lens of LOTR? Sheesh. If this is National Review, we're screwed.

[Jack Black]

Holy Crap. I love this guy. I would use this as a tag line but it's a little long.

Ok, I'm curious. I'll try:

[Dawnsblood]

I assume that since he is now writing for a mainstream publication he feels the need to inject a bit of pop culture into his writing to capture the attention of younger readers. As for who the “f*ing jackass” is, he is Bill Whittle. He is known to many of us conservatives as the best essayist in the right wing of the blogosphere. NRO is lucky to have him.

[El Gato]

The Undefended City

That would be the Shining City On A Hill, that Ronald W. Reagan spoke of in his farewell address, January 11, 1989...

Has it really been that long? I guess it has.

[redgolum]

Rome fell for the same reason we are falling. The people that made up the Empire no longer believed in it.

The barbarians didn't destroy the Empire, many actually tried to recreate it. They believed in it more than the Romans did.

After 40 years of indoctrination, we are in a similar state. Most of the people under age 30 have been taught to hate the USA since kindergarten.

[neverdem]

BTTT!

[Weirdad]

Bump. Great post, thank you!

[TChad]

Bump for a great essay.

[roses of sharon]

I read this last night...fits my mood exactly.