Ragnarok
On doom
What is the purpose of doom? For all things must have a purpose, I think.
Growing up, that word always reminded me of The Lord of the Rings. Not just Mount Doom, where (spoiler alert) Frodo ultimately casts the Ring back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. The whole trilogy is caught up with the concept of doom, this shadow hanging over the characters and their choices, forcing itself to be looked upon, allowing no avoidance or escape. Like King Théoden leading his army into war, the whole host crying out “Death!” as they charge.
Perhaps that’s what doom is for: to be the mounting weight that renders us unable to turn away from our fate. That unsticks us from where we’ve been struck dumb with fear, the antidote to decision paralysis. Doom is what forces us to do what must be done.
There is a difference, though, between doom and the threat of doom. The threat of doom is a cloud on the horizon. It chokes out the sun like wildfire smoke, makes the days grow dark in the mind, constricts hope and debilitates action. I don’t see the use in the threat of doom.
But doom: when it is here, when doom is certain or at least feels that way, that’s when the magic happens. When hope is finally lost and we have nothing left but action. When destruction is guaranteed, failure is the most likely outcome and nothing we do…
