• The One Ring of Power, created by Sauron to bind in "darkness" other rings made for men, elves and dwarves, represents technology-driven industrial globalization that seeks to "bind" and control the world through the false and self-benefitting promises of "free trade."

• The Ringwraiths (nine former kings of men, turned into soulless creatures as a result of succumbing to the power of the ring) became the WTO (World Trade Organization), the World Bank and the IMF, globalization's handmaidens. These Western, neoliberal institutions roam the world looking for ways to increase the West's bank accounts through the subjugation or loss of sovereignty of "developing" countries.

• The marginalized indigenous people of America, who are fighting global capitalist's agendas for their very existence, are the homologues of hobbits or the "free" people of Middle Earth who resisted Sauron's evil ambitions. For these mostly agrarian societies, freedom is captured in a collective struggle to retain their cultural values and stave of the process of Western imperialism, a process which began with colonialism and is now being spearheaded by "free trade" or globalization.

• The Ents, the shepherds of trees, who turn on Saruman after their forests are burned and cut down, represent Nature and its ability to respond to man's irresponsible and irreverent treatment of the environment with changes potentially harmful to human survival (i.e. global warming, loss of biodiversity, prolonged droughts, severe storms).

• Wormtongue, the truth-twisting adviser to the King of Gondor, as the powerful, ideological Western media who sap the will of the masses with their selective reporting (i.e. Fox news et al) and seductive illusions (i.e. Hummer Sport Utility Vehicle ads, "nostalgia" ads, MTV's "reality" world), turning people into narrow-minded individualists and consumers.

• Disturbingly, I couldn't help but wonder whether Mohammed Atta and the 18 highjackers responsible for the brutal 911 terrorists attacks, had considered themselves to be analogous to the members of the Fellowship of the Ring on their quest to reach Mt. Doom. In their eyes, it is possible that Mt. Doom, the heart of Saurons' empire, was synonymous to the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the symbolic heart and muscle of America's imperialistic empire. Both Atta and Frodo attacked these centers in their epic struggle between "power" and "freedom."

It should be noted here that understanding is not equal to condoning. From a philosophical and naturalistic viewpoint, the systematic killing of any one people (or way of life) diminishes diversity and, thus, is always counterproductive to the sustainability of human life--whether it is the death of 3000 Americans at the hands of Muslim fundamentalist or 6 MILLION Jews slaughtered by the Nazis or the MILLIONS of Native Americans, Black Africans, Southeast Asian peasants, Central American campesinos, and Iraqi children killed in the name of America's imperialistic "Manifest Destiny"-- a destiny more and more shaped by corporate agendas and less by true democratic principles.

In addition, this disturbing metaphor should force us to ask ourselves questions such as: How have we come to live in a world which posits "western" goals as the only legitimate ones? Is it only through centuries of brute force? Why are "eastern" and "western" ambitions felt to be so mutually exclusive? Is it because of arrogant Orientalism and ignorant Occidentalism? How is it possible that my "good" can be another man's "evil" and vice versa? It is this inability to reconcile such extremes that culminated in the events of 9/11. If we do not try to understand such events, we will continue to place ourselves in positions that make us vulnerable to calculated hatred from someone with a different perspective of human's fundamental nature.

• In Tolkien's book, the fellowship's goal was to destroy the ring of power rather than use it in the battle against Sauron, realizing that "absolute power corrupts absolutely." If one takes the ring to also represent our id-driven ego or our reptilian essence (an essence capitalized successfully by those marketing SUV's like the Hummer), then destroying the ego is an alluded response to the threat of "evil"-- whether it be Sauron or global economic domination. Atta and his ilk chose martyrdom as their ego destroying act. Healthier, more productive and less extreme versions of this type of "resistance" would include Buddhism (Nirvana is reached through the state of no desires), Native American theology (the human ego is subjugated to the will of Pacha Mama) and Gandhi-like passive resistance.

• Global citizens, particularly those who have succumbed to the selfish allure of immediate money and wealth building as sole arbiters of success, have turned into orcs (mutated elves mindlessly following Sauron's agenda). I even saw myself as having become orc-like as a result of blindly buying into the false promises of the stock market-- the ever present and true deity of American society. After more careful study, I came to the following realizations: First, the all too "efficient" inner workings of the stock market include the fact that corporations continuously look for ways to both increase productivity and market share. Unfortunately, a common way of increasing productivity is by flaunting environmental and labor concerns. And to increase market share, developed countries routinely run rampant over local emerging markets (if your not China that is). These premises are the essence of NAFTA and the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas). Second, the markets are all too easily corrupted --as witnessed by the recent shenanigans of Enron, Worldcomm, Martha Stewart and their ilk -- and are blatantly ideologically hypocritical -- es evidenced by the multi-billion dollar agricultural subsidies given by Western countries to their farmers. And last, the American economy is in large part based on militarism. For example, in the last two quarters the US GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has grown 2%. However, in this same time period, military spending --more and more based on private industry such as Halliburton-- has increased 44%. This scenario begs the question, is the war in Iraq just a necessary excuse to keep the US stock market from plunging below 6000? Through my investments, I saw myself as potentially contributing to the destruction of wildlife habitats, the uprooting of native peoples, the arming of rogue and ideological groups and the ultimate atomization of society.

A Better World

In the "Lord of the Rings," a new age is about to dawn on Middle Earth -- the time of elves is giving way to the era of men. Similarly, we on earth are entering a new age where the direction we choose for our species now will determine the tone of our destiny. It is my hope that humanity will enter a more productive age, the age of "MANKIND" (as opposed to the age of "numbers"), free of the insanity that pervades our current lives -- an insanity centered around the erroneous conception that human nature is essentially an economic one.

This "homo economicus" view of man -- which is ultimately self serving to the status quo --is best exemplified in the the trappings of neoliberal policies, which have led humanity to be increasingly polarized into the "haves" and "have nots" and have made us all inhuman slaves to corporate agendas.

An egalitarian global community needs to arise to replace our current ruling order-- a community that understands that local self-determination, free access to information and cultural diversity are the keys to sustainability. This community will aim to use technology and trade as a means to help free mankind, as opposed to enslaving it. Finally, the members of this community will understand the importance of Nature as a vital and guiding force for our species' long-term survival.

Will this happen? I believe it already is. Every day throughout the world, more and more people are joining and understanding the "fair trade" and humanist movements. Developing countries, with the help of activists and NGO's, are finally organized to the point were they now have real power to protect the rights of their citizens at global trade meetings (witness the walkouts at the recent WTO meeting in Cancun).

In short, though Mordor may be in our midst, the free people of earth, imbued with the spirit of Frodo, still have a chance to claim the day for humanity.