The Culture of Middle-earth

There are many cultures that make up Middle-earth, and each culture has its strengths and weaknesses. There is the Shire, simple, pastoral, and with a strong sense of community. The flip side is insularity and suspicion of strangers, friend or foe. They desire peace and merriment above all other aspirations, and so stand strong where others fail.

The Dwarves are solid and stoic folk, master craftsmen who cherish ores, gems, and stones, but who also raise their deep voices in song as they bring forth music from instruments of their own hand. Their love of the solid Earth can easily be turned to greed, and their craftsmanship to disdain, but they are loyal, sturdy, fierce to their enemies, and true to their friends.

The Elves are the artisans who bring beauty and grace to everything they do, everything they make, and everything around them. Nothing is too low to be artful, and all that is high and wonderful bears their touch. But all beauty fails, as do the Elves, and so their time, though long, is tinged with sadness as all that they make and are passes away.

The Numenorian Men are the heirs of the Elves, taking on their language, their art, and their architecture, but slowly, inevitably corrupting it. The best of them are true and honorable, and makers of great works, but even they can be tempted to love stones edifices more than family, legends more than life.

The Eorlingas, the people of Rohan, are a culture rich in oral tradition, lovers of horses, and lovers of freedom. They roam their countryside, keeping to their oaths of allegiance. Loyal and true, they make fierce warriors, but they can also be misled and misused.

Our modern-day culture is mix of all these attributes, but layered over by Sarumanesque machines. Almost all that we consume and produce is dependent on engines and wheels, fires and reactions. The challenge is to keep to the positive values of the Middle-earth cultures we cherish. We can start by establishing community, both here in cyberspace, and in the real world. Be producers of works, great and small, but make nothing that is shabby, useless, or ugly. Love the Earth and all she produces, but do not be greedy with her wealth. Cherish and strengthen the beauty that is around us, but do not foolishly insist that it must last forever unchanged, for change it will. The hard heart breaks, but the soft heart yields. Aspire to the arts when you can, for they will expand your vision and enlarge your mind. Build monuments to truth, but put people before things. Cherish freedom and defend it with honor and mercy. Record your histories lest they be forgotten. Sing loudly, dance lightly, and laugh heartily.

Infant Sleep Training Letter Published

Here is my latest letter to the editor published on May 2nd of this year in response to an article on sleep-training infants.


*****
Parental convenience should take back seat

In response to "Parents try to cope with crying baby" (April 25):

"Sleep training" may eventually get the baby to sleep through the
night, but it also teaches him his needs are unimportant and won't be
met by the people he trusts most. Babies in orphanages don't cry,
either, because there is no one to answer their cries.

Babies cry because they need something. Sometimes it's easy to figure
out -- they're hungry, wet, too warm or too cold. Other times it
isn't so obvious -- they may have a stomach ache or just want human
contact.

Many parents and babies avoid problems by co-sleeping. Other parents
keep baby close by setting up the crib next to their bed or putting
an adult bed in the baby's room so mom can lie down to nurse at the
first waking.

By making sleep arrangements that recognize a baby's nighttime needs,
mom, dad and baby can synchronize their sleep habits, meet baby's
needs for food and comfort and still get plenty of rest.

Mary J. Jordan Vaccarella


Hickory
*****

Here is the text as I originally wrote it, before the paper edited it.

*****

I was dismayed to see your article promoting a sleep training method
that ignores the needs of babies for the sake of the parents'
convenience. This method may eventually get the baby to sleep
through the night, but it also teaches him that his needs are
unimportant and will not be met by the people he trusts most.
Eventually baby will realize the futility of crying and shut down.
Babies in orphanages don't cry either, because there is no one to
answer their cries.

Babies do not cry to annoy their parents. They cry because they need
something. Sometimes it's easy to figure out – they're hungry, or
wet, or too warm, or too cold. Other times it is not so obvious –
they may have a stomach ache or they may just want human contact and
closeness. Breastfeeding and learning to nurse lying down are
essential for a good night's sleep. Many parents and babies avoid
sleep problems by co-sleeping, either all night or after the first
waking. Their night-waking is no more disturbing than rolling over
in bed or getting up to go to the bathroom. Other parents keep baby
close by setting up the crib next to their bed in a side car
arrangement, or put an adult bed or mattress in the baby's room so
mom can lie down to nurse at the first waking. Babies are designed
to get a substantial amount of nutrition at night. By making sleep
arrangements that recognize a baby's nighttime needs, mom, dad, and
baby can synchronize their sleep habits, meet baby's needs for food
and comfort, and still get plenty of rest.

*****