Excellent poem and any reference to Tolkien always warms the heart for sound Catholic doctrine. But it seems to me that, noble and high minded as the old man of the poem is, there might be too much done for the youth. This is the mind-set of helicopter parents. A friend of mine, with 4 sons panicked when she saw one of them climbing a tree. "He might fall down. He might scrape or scratch himself etc." Finally I was able to make her understand that the boy needed the experience
of doing something slightly "dangerous;" that it was part of his being able to face danger as a man.
This is an important part of a boy's growth, I believe. I notice that there are many men who want their sons to be "real men" now and not the effeminate creatures Leftest Feminists want. A man can and should be kind and gentle, but strength and courage are so important. We need to encourage the very best in boys so that they can be the very best men.
Perhaps; certainly I wouldn't want to encourage a fear to face any risk at all, but I don't think we need to read the poem this way. I think a focus on our duty to future generations is a better way to see it. Even as an adult with children, my father would come and help me deal with things (a broken furnace, roofwork) that I didn't have the skill or experience to do myself, and so I eventually learned to do them. And I want to be this kind of father, myself.
Excellent poem and any reference to Tolkien always warms the heart for sound Catholic doctrine. But it seems to me that, noble and high minded as the old man of the poem is, there might be too much done for the youth. This is the mind-set of helicopter parents. A friend of mine, with 4 sons panicked when she saw one of them climbing a tree. "He might fall down. He might scrape or scratch himself etc." Finally I was able to make her understand that the boy needed the experience
of doing something slightly "dangerous;" that it was part of his being able to face danger as a man.
This is an important part of a boy's growth, I believe. I notice that there are many men who want their sons to be "real men" now and not the effeminate creatures Leftest Feminists want. A man can and should be kind and gentle, but strength and courage are so important. We need to encourage the very best in boys so that they can be the very best men.
Perhaps; certainly I wouldn't want to encourage a fear to face any risk at all, but I don't think we need to read the poem this way. I think a focus on our duty to future generations is a better way to see it. Even as an adult with children, my father would come and help me deal with things (a broken furnace, roofwork) that I didn't have the skill or experience to do myself, and so I eventually learned to do them. And I want to be this kind of father, myself.