[Bill Ferny]

I think akhtene hits on an important issue: “what they actually got is the freedom to choose their lifestyle.” What makes the free peoples of Middle Earth free? The ability to freely discriminate their own destiny. We aren’t talking about gated communities or worlds, but the freedom of a people to direct their own destiny; it is the responsibility of all other free nations to respect a people’s sovereignty. In today’s world, such a lesson should be well heeded. Outsiders and their vested interests (achunoo) should take a backseat in the process of nation building.

Why does the restoration of peace require the renewed imposition of the ideal of separateness, cutting off roads for travel, etc.?

As has already been stated, the edict of Elessar was not an imposition on the Shire, but, as is made plain throughout the narrative, the actual will of its inhabitants. Hobbits preferred not to interfere in the affairs of the big people, or have the big people interfere in their affairs. The edict highlights the fact that the king does not rule the Shire, but the hobbits do. Elessar is simply respecting the sovereignty of the Shire.

It seems to me that Tolkien is saying you have to leave the gated world to learn and grow. Once you do that, you are never the same.

I agree with this.

Tolkien may be saying we can't change our gated world, not then and not now. We have too many limits on our soul. But what we can change, what we are responsible for, is our own attitude within that world.

I disagree with this only because it is contrary to the standard mythic model that I firmly believe is inherent in Tolkien’s story. The hero leaves home on a journey of maturity, finds elixir, returns home and uses elixir to better his or her home. What the main hobbit characters bring to the Shire from their adventure no doubt impacts the Shire and its culture and its people profoundly, and not just in the Scouring. Sam’s children are particularly pointed out in this regard. The Shire is irrevocably changed by what the main characters bring back to the Shire, and it is the hope at the end that seems to indicate that the Shire is the better for it.