VigilanceVoice

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Tuesday--October 15, 2002—Ground Zero Plus 398
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Bali's "Vigilance Youth Corps"
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by
Cliff McKenzie
   Editor, New York City Combat Correspondent News
 

       GROUND ZERO, New York City, October 15 -- The 182 young people killed by a Terrorist bombing in Bali are not dead. 
        They live as the "Youth Vigilance Corps," symbols of the young whose lives, while cut short by the Beast of Terror's fangs, haven't been lost, but have been elevated to a higher purpose.

        That purpose, at least in my mind, is to form the "Youth Vigilance Corps,"--the body of a corps of youth who will act as "Sentinels of Vigilance," issuing messages of Vigilance to young people, in language they can understand that reminds them Courage will overpower all Fear, that Conviction will chase Intimidation to the ends of the earth, and that Right Actions will eject Complacency from the pilot's seat of a youth's mind that he or she is not able or capable or worthy enough to help "change the world."
         Webster defines the word "corps" as: A body of persons acting together or associated under common direction.
          I believe, and urge all the VigilanceVoice readers to believe, that above Ground Zero in Bali, amidst the smoke and charred remains of hundreds of bodies, that each soul of those young, alive people who died have formed a Circle of Vigilance, hands linked, eyes swinging over all points of the compass, alert to the threats of Terrorism, and prepared to warn their fellow youth on earth of Terrorism's great dangers--falling victim to Fear, Intimidation and Complacency.     

        The Terrorist bombing in Bali is the second largest loss of lives since the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 that resulted in nearly 2,800 lives lost, and the attacks on the Pentagon and ill-fated attempt aboard Flight 93 to target the White House.

       Over each of those "Ground Zeros" rose the Sentinels of Vigilance.   Their spirits hover today, dressed in the armor of Sentinels of Vigilance, carrying the Sword of Vigilance and Shield of Vigilance, and wearing crowns of peace.  These are the mature Sentinels, mostly older, able to be the fathers or mothers of those who died in Bali, and in some cases, their grandmothers and grandfathers.
         These "mature Sentinels" welcome the "Youth of Vigilance."   They open their circle to them, knowing that the young have a special means of communication within their ranks, through music, dreams, idealisms and endless energies that often escape the older whose visions have narrowed, whose bodies sag from the weight of gravity, whose eyes cannot see quite as crisply or clearly as those of the younger, more vibrant.
         A body of persons acting together or associated under common direction.
         The Youth Vigilance Corps.
         They have much work cut out for them.   For the world today is the world of youth.   And only when the young take up the challenge of Vigilance will Terrorism truly be driven into its caves of darkness, held in check by the energy of the young, and managed by the wisdom of the old.
         Saudi Arabia  is one example of the overpowering need for Youth Vigilance Corps.   Fifteen of the 19 Terrorists who attacked America were Saudi citizens, young idealists who chose the most radical form of expressing their beliefs at the expense of humanity.
         And the problem hasn't gone away.

         Saudi Arabia has a population of 16 million of which 65 percent, just about two-thirds, are under the age of 25.   Thirty-eight percent are under the age of 11.   In Saudi schools, compulsory Islamic religion is taught, and in some cases it consumes 30-40 percent of the school day curriculum.   The teachings are under the dogma of Wahhabi, a rigid interpretation of Islam that makes the youth of that nation viable Terrorist candidates.

       In Iraq, with a population of 23 million, 4.6 million, or 20 percent of the total population, are between the ages of 15 and 24, the relative same ages of those who died in Bali at 11 p.m. on Saturday night, in the Kuta Beach district.
      "This is the worst act of terror in Indonesia's history," said Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, the national police chief. "We have to be more alert for other acts of terror."
        That is the mission of the Youth Vigilance Corps--to be more alert for acts of Terror.   If there is a reason for anyone's death, let the 182 who died on October 12, 2002, stand as symbols to the youth of the world that their responsibility is to stop Terrorism in its tracks.
         Terrorism feeds on youth's innocence.   It takes a child's mind and twists it like a pretzel into thinking that violence and hatred and revenge are the cures to injustice, a way of purifying an "evil world."   Most of those who carry out the acts of Terrorism are the young, idealists, seeking to make their "dent" in life.   The "older" Terrorists recruit the young, for the young are often blinded by the propaganda that diminishes the value of life, and elevates the principle of sacrifice.
       In World War II, most of the Kamikazi pilots were young boys, barely able to fly, who were asked to "die for their country."    Military ranks of all nations are filled with "youth," for the older one gets, the more insane war becomes, and the less likely one is to take orders without questioning them, and the more concerned one is for "reasons" rather than "blind loyalty."
       I was a U.S. Marine who fought in battle.  I was trained to kill for my Corps, for my country, to never question an order, and to consider my death in battle a sacrifice to my comrades, to my beliefs.    In many ways it was a glorious time for a young man who sought purpose in life, in other ways it led me into the Beast of Terror's claws, and helped me become a Terrorist in my own rights, who would kill anything that moved in the belief that a "free fire zone" excluded the innocent, when in reality, it didn't.

        I sought the "militant corps" because I wanted to learn Courage instead of the Fears that haunted me about not being "man enough."  I was Intimidated by lack of power, for I was always a "skinny kid," and wanted to become strong, to have others look up at me.    And, I was Complacent, because I didn't work at my self-image but rather believed I could develop it through acquiring another's beliefs--i.e., the Marine Corps--and all its power to make me a "trained killer" of the elite degree.
      I understand why a young boy or girl seeking recognition from within would gravitate toward a Terrorist training camp.    I understand the passion to take one's frustrations out through violence, under the flag of righteousness.  I understand it only too well.
      I also understand that had I been exposed to the Principles of Vigilance, and been offered the gifts of Courage, Conviction and Right Actions by my peers--other youths--I might have not needed to learn how to be a "trained killer" to rise above my Fears, my Intimidations and my Complacencies.
      In the slums of the world, whether it is in America or any poverty-stricken area, those who live on the edge of prosperity grow angry at those who have what they do not.   They become victimized by their lot in life, and seek to express their anger by toppling that which others have to neutralize the differences.   It's like the jealous child who doesn't have a nice toy and sees another child with one and goes over and breaks it.  Now, nobody has a toy.   The playing field is leveled by an act of Terrorism.

        Taking away the World Trade Center, or a chunk of the Pentagon, or a nightclub in Bali, is the sign of a child angry that others have what he wants, but who is not willing to find ways to get it fairly, and so smashes it.   Those who carry out the "smashing" are usually the youth--the "dispensable" ones --while the older leaders sit back and recruit more "suicide bombers" and watch them die from afar.

       The Youth Vigilance Corps is about shifting the Terror injected into youth to Vigilance.   Its goal is to make children respect life, and to see the future through the eyes of the youth, not the eyes of angry older men and women who use them as tools of Terror.
      The Pledge of Vigilance below, is also a Youth Corps Pledge of Vigilance.
      It is something any young person can embrace, and use to build Courage, Conviction and Right Actions from within, without the desperation to find it without.
      And, it calls for those who take it to not just look for the physical Terrorism that is so obvious when it appears in the form of bruises, and scars, and angry, hateful bigotry and prejudice, or religious righteousness--but also to keep a Vigilant alert for Emotional Terrorism.

      Youth seek to find self worth, self-awareness, self-discovery in their journey to maturity.   In the most malleable time of their lives, pre-teens, teens, and early 20's, they are seeking personal identity, personal worth.   Many come from homes where they have been Emotionally Terrorized.  They feel they are not "loved," or "cared about."   They may have been abused as a child physically or emotionally.   They may think they are not smart enough, good looking enough, skinny enough.  They may not have much money and wear clothes they are ashamed of, or have parents who are so busy they are like emotional strangers who feed and clothe and show them off, but never know who they are, never get down and share the Fears, Intimidations or Complacencies that haunt them.

       The Youth Vigilant Corps is as responsible to recognize these signs of Terrorism within themselves and others as they are a sniper standing by a white van leveling a rifle at an innocent person, or a guy sitting in an airplane seat trying to light his shoes on fire.
       One learns Courage only by facing his or her Fears, and the same is true of Intimidation and Complacency.   One must face them, must unmask the Beast of Terror within before being able to help others.
        And it isn't that difficult.   A Youth of Vigilance need only recognize a Terroristic Thought and stop it from growing.    All one has to do when one feels "less than," or "greater than" others, is to say, "Stop Thought!"  It's like a sentry in the mind, challenging an intruder attempting to skulk its way into one's thoughts.
        To banish the Terroristic Thought, one must think in terms of Vigilance--mustering the Courage, Conviction and taking the Right Actions to drive the thought away.   The best way is for a young person to believe he or she has a "special purpose" on this earth, that he or she may not know yet definitively, but its essence is to protect the world from Terrorism of all sizes and shapes, both from within and without.
        If a youth is staring at himself or herself in the mirror, and sees an unpopular, ugly being that nobody likes, that is victimized by having "less than others," then it is critical that person stop and realize those are the thoughts of the Beast of Terror, not their own.   It is time for them to shift their thinking from the horrors they see, to the beauty they see.   What if what they really saw was a Sentinel of Vigilance, a Clark Kent or Superwoman, disguised in some shape or form the mirror reflects, but who, upon calling out for the Sentinels of Vigilance to help, could convert into a person filled with Courage, Conviction and Right Actions.
        I have met many successful, famous people in my life.   Not one of them was handicapped by what they didn't have, or didn't look like.   All were driven my some greater purpose far outside themselves that made their defects unimportant.
        The Youth Vigilance Corps is about building Courage to face the mirror of life, and instead of seeing one's reflection, to see the mission of life--to make this world just a little better for the children and the children's children.

      And, to help the Youth of Vigilance achieve this goal, 182 other Youths of Vigilance stand cheering them on.   They hover above the island of Bali in Indonesia, a ring of young people of all different sizes and shapes, of all different nationalities--fat, thin, ugly, pretty, rich, poor, tall, short, smart and not so smart--but all wise in their belief that what they look like, or who they are, or where they came from, or what privileges they either had or didn't have mean nothing in their pursuit of Vigilance.
       They have matured beyond being recognized for who they are, and eager to become what they are--Sentinels of Vigilance, helping the youth of the world stand in their own shoes, and walk with dignity and pride as they help reduce Terrorism and free the children from the Belly of the Beast of Terror.
       You can start your Journey to Vigilance today.
       Take the Pledge of Vigilance.   Be a member of the Youth Vigilance Corps!