Common Core State Standards Now Performing As "The Ring" in The Hobbit

As a practicing Christian, I find Ted Baehr's MovieGuide an indispensable help when trying to decide what movies I'll let my kids (all 12 and under) watch.

I actually subscribe to their email list and I got an email this morning that contained an analysis of The Ring from The Hobbit.  The article, "The Limits of Control: A Deeper Look Into the Hobbit's Worldview" was quite an interesting read for first thing this morning. 

The author explains - well, I might add - the personification of The Ring in the Hobbit. 

Frankly, the concept is absolutely basic, yet we never really strive for 'basic' as humans, so the concept remains difficult for us to grasp.  Humans tend to over-analyze any aspect of an issue before addressing the thing sitting in the open right under our noses. 

Life is about wrong and right, period.  A simple concept to be sure, but humans tend to botch it because we won't understand the nature of universal truth.  We don't really want to if truth be told, because truth abhors the human notion of, 'if it feels good do it'.  

Gone are the days that young people understand they shouldn't say, "My bad" when asking forgiveness for a wrong they have personally committed, for example.  When I was growing up, in the dark ages, you were taught to say, "I am sorry" with emphasis on the I part.  Why?  Because YOU were the one that committed the faux pax. 

It hurts, taking responsibility for yourself and your own actions, though.  It is much easier to turn over as much of your life as possible to someone who will simply run it for you.  Why make decisions for yourself when those decisions might not bring enjoyment or happiness?

The rise of government intervention into the lives of individuals today is a direct result of this shirking of responsibility.  The less society takes responsibility for themselves, the more the law clamps down.  It is true that John Adams once said about the Constitution, 

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Why?  Because those with morals - whether directly as a result of religion or not - will be more likely to govern themselves than those who do not.

Common Core is yet another instance of others running the lives of those that are percieved as being unable or unwilling to do it for themselves.  Those that most greatly desire the ubiquitous structure of something like Common Core are those mostly disinterested in the hard work it will take to change community schools on their own - as individual parents, teachers and citizens. They much prefer to live their lives in subservience to some faceless entity that will shoulder all the blows of life - something they can place blame on for the failures in their lives other than themselves (which, as I pointed out, brings some level of discomfort).

The simple truth is that life is hard if you do it right.  Consequently humans seem always on the lookout for that 'ring' to make everything easier by usurping the individual freedom of decision making through the power of mindless tyranny. Very sad, really, when you think about it.