GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--Mar. 22, 2004 -- The world is full of "missing links."   The most famous is the link that separates the "beasts" from the "humans," or that fragment of proof that we--alleged intelligent, cognitive beings with a moral conscience--evolved from tree-swinging apes.

       Battles between science and religion keep the rift open.    Many people don't want to think human beings may have their roots in the same primordial ooze as the dinosaurs, rats, cockroaches, elephants, apes, crows, cobras and mongooses of the world.   There is a thirst among many to elevate and isolate human beings as being "above" the evolution of "beasts," cleaved from them by some "higher authority" who made the world to serve the whim of humanity.
        Terrorism presents a similar gap.   It challenges nations and states to recognize or refute that we--the human beings of the world--are Terrorists who need to manage our Terrorism.
         That means we must admit we are descendents of the Beast of Terror, and that any one of us given us certain conditions that trigger the "Beast Within" can turn into a violent, unconscionable Terrorist willing and able to maim and murder anyone who gets in the way of our mission.
        That's a hard one for "civilized" people to swallow.

        Until, of course, they look at the history of war.   War is nothing more than organized Terrorism, conducted by every nation at some point in their history and evolution.    No one's hands are free of the blood of the past.
        But, in looking at the world today, one might argue that most of the nation/states are doing their best to distance themselves from Terrorism.   They are seeking to duck and hide.    They don't want to step up to the Terrorism plate and take a swing at the Beast of Terror's head.
        Spain is one of these nations.   The Terrorist attack three days before the nation's election that killed 202 and wounded 1,700 intimidated voters into shifting toward an anti-war, anti-American candidate.    The voters wanted to sever the "Terrorist Link" between their nation and the dangers of the Beast of Terror.
         Europe wants to divorce itself from TerrorHunting.   Germany, France and other European nations have hedged on the Iraq battleground for many reasons, the most important being to stay low on the Terrorist radar--to not awaken the Beast of Terror's wrath against them.
         They want to deny the "Terror Link" between themselves and the Terrorists.  They don't want to admit that most Terrorism uses Europe as a breeding and recruiting ground.
         In today's NY Times, there is a powerful story on Europe's role in battling Terrorism.  The following quote from the piece illustrates the danger of looking at Terrorism with a blind eye.

        Judge Garzon is quick to zero in on the real issue--"lack of any broad vision."   Europe is divided by many borders, languages and cultures.   Hunting Terrorism throughout its diverse systems of government is not an easy task, but the bigger issue is "lack of broad vision."

         It is clear that the "broad vision" is the need for all citizens of all nations to become Sentinels of Vigilance.    It is clear the "broad vision" is that Terrorism is not going to go away, or give amnesty to Europe because its people decided to duck and hide.
         The "missing link" Europe hopes not to find is the link that defines their cultures just as much a Terrorist as the Terrorist themselves.   When one plays into Terrorism's Fear, Intimidation and Complacency, one becomes what one Fears.    To be Terrorized by Terrorism is to be a Terrorist.   It means we stop fighting back, we stop battling the Beast and let it eat us and our children.   By allowing ourselves to be ingested by Terrorism, we are digested by it.  We become the Beast who consumed us.  We are absorbed into the Beast's Belly.
         That's the "broad vision" that Judge Garzon is eluding to.   Terrorism is not just a nation/state issue, but a citizen issue.   Each citizen of each state of each nation must make a stand to either defy Terrorism by becoming a Sentinel of Vigilance or being consumed by it through Fear, Intimidation or Complacency. 
         There is no ducking and weaving from Terrorism.  There never has been in the history of human evolution, and there never will be.
          Humans inherit from the Beasts the primal nature.    No matter how civilized we attempt to become, we cannot shun that part of our being.    We cannot deny it.  But, we can recognize it and manage it.
          This requires that we become Sentinels of Vigilance.   This requires that we see not only in ourselves but in others the potential for the Beast of Terror to rule.  We owe it to our children to prepare them for their own battles with the Beast waged from within, as well as those waged from without.
          What one thinks of one's self dictates how one thinks of others.

       When a Terrorist looks at others, he or she sees them as tools to use to liberate themselves as martyrs.    They do not see the duty or responsibility of  a Sentinel of Vigilance to the safety and security of the Children's Children's Children, for if they did, they would not perform senseless acts of violence upon others for any reason.         
       Today, nations are ducking the duty of being Nations of Vigilance.  They are not encompassing the "Broad View" that links us all to the Beast of Terror, and admits our need to manage that Beast with Courage, Conviction and Right Actions for future generations.
         We need to capture the "missing link" of Vigilance and install it in the gap between our view of Terrorism and our duty to Vigilance.
         The evolution of our children depends on us forming a bridge that they can travel with safety when their own Beast roars, and one that can support their families and the families of others when the collective Beast roars.
        What we can't allow is indifference to the gap to suggest or imply that there is safety in ducking and weaving, or insulation in Complacency from the wrath of the Beast.

        We need to bear our Swords and Shields of Vigilance to let the Beast know we have the "Broad Vision," that we are not ignoring the "missing link" so that when he  tries to sneak up and attack, he will be met with Courage, Conviction and Right Actions that will drive him back to the primordial ooze from whence he came.
         Arm yourself with the Missing Link today--take the Pledge of Vigilance.
      

Mar 21--Protesting The War On Terrorism: A Vigilant View

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