[Elladan and Elrohir]

I'm not sure I agree with that. If Sam were to push Frodo in, Frodo would essentially be forced to destroy the Ring, a breach of his free will. Free will, obviously, is a theme that runs throughout all of Tolkien's works, and was deemed by him to be fundamental to the workings of the world. Were Sam to breach Frodo's free will by pushing him into the Crack, it would be equivalent to the Ring, which also broke Frodo's will by forcing him to take It.

So I don't think Gandalf's advice would have been to push Frodo in, just as Cirdan and Elrond did not push Isildur in. They honored his choice of free will, if indeed it was that, and I think Gandalf would have done the same.

But then, the inevitable question is, what would have happened? If we're not to push Frodo in, what happens? How do we destroy the Ring? I think that's an unanswerable question. The One Ring COULD NOT be destroyed by anyone in Middle-earth, of their own will (unless it be Tom Bombadil, who never would have gone to the Crack anyway). And in the end, of course, it was not destroyed by anyone's will. Both Frodo and Gollum sought to preserve it and keep it; and of course Gollum slipped in his gloating.

I look at the above paragraph and realize that it contradicts Tolkien's Letter in which he stated that Gollum or Frodo could have voluntarily thrown themselves and the Ring into the Crack of Doom. This is unfortunate; I try never to go against what the author himself has stated. But perhaps he's wrong this time. Perhaps it would be impossible for Frodo or Gollum to throw themselves in with the Ring.

If anyone spots a hole in my above arguments, please feel free to share it; I'm not even sure I agree with what I said, which happens often when I'm on the Downs.

One possible hole would be: how important is the preservation of free will when the fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance? Of course, reviewing my arguments, I see that the issue of free will is moot if one agrees that the One Ring cannot be voluntarily destroyed. If one cannot throw himself and the Ring into the Crack, then it follows that one cannot push the person who has the Ring into the Crack, for the same reason.