Peace and freedom you say? The North would have known them little but for us. Fear would have destroyed them. But when dark things come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless wooods, they fly from us. What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dúnedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?
And yet less thanks have we than you. Travellers scowl at us, and countrymen give us scornful names. "Strider" I am to one fat man who lives within a day's march of foes that would freeze his heart, or lay his little town in ruin, if he were not guarded ceaselessly. Yet we would not have it otherwise.
Again, I am put in mind of modern Americans who neither understand nor appreciate those who protect them, both in the armed forces and in law enforcement. I have been in neither profession, but I am grateful for the sacrifices made by those men and their families to make sure that the rest of us live in peace.
