THE WHITE TOWER

     Anyone who has read Tolkien's books, collectively known as The Lord of the Rings, knows what the White Tower is. It's where the white magician works his magic for good. The white magician opposes the Black magician, who is working his evil magic for death, destruction, and domination from his dark tower of negativity.

     Now, most of us would be content to live our simple and fulfilling lives quietly and at peace. Some though are discontent and seek to improve their position in life through aggression and conflict. Unfortunately, these people have achieved positions of great power in governments and multinational companies and are able to put the rest of us on their negative and unfulfilling trip.

     These people are the Dark Tower, the leaders and warlords of the various governments and multinationals striving to control the remaining oil in that dark drama taking place today in the Middle East. They are using their war to distract us from seeing how much they have fucked up as our leaders - how they have squandered our resources, polluted our environment, ruined our economy, and taken away our freedoms. They have used their war to vent their own fears, frustrations and angers of a personal, national, and collective nature.

     The White Tower is fragile, yet very powerful. It will always prevail over the dark. It is the collective effort of all those of us ordinary people who are at peace with ourselves and with the world and who wish for only peace and fulfillment for all life upon this planet. The White Tower is common sense, the collective wisdom of the species. The White Tower is all of us challenged by the Dark Tower and growing beyond ourselves to meet this challenge. It is collective joy and love.

      It is a time like in the last book of The Lord of the Rings, a time like that great battle before the last free city of man. All the people coming together finally to defend the White Tower and to neutralize the negative and destructive power of the dark. Exciting and potent times! The end of one age and the beginning of a new. Most likely the future of mankind depends upon each of us now. Actually, it always has.

     By Eugene Marks