The Importance of the Gardener

Two days ago I sat watching what I believe to be one of the finest movies of our age: The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. As is normal for me when watching the film, my sympathies always are drawn to probably one of the most lovable characters in all of literature: the faithful gardener, Samwise Gamgee. The sad reality of it is that in today's society, a relationship like Sam and Frodo's could never exist. First of all, any two men who would choose to display such fraternal affection to each other would instantly be seen as homosexual Moreover, two men would never allow themselves to show that kind of affection for fear of being seen as homosexual, unless of course they are. Yet, it is in this that I feel the world is lacking. What is it that has determined that men cannot express love to each other? Why is it that men cannot embrace, communicate, and truly connect emotionally? I'm so happy that I have friends (male) to whom I can say, "I love you" and not be ashamed to do so. Because I do, they are important to me, and I want them to know that. In short, we all need a little of Samwise in our life: that loyalty, that tenacity, that compassion for those most important to us. Indeed, we all need to understand more the importance of the gardener.