GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--Mar. 9, 2004 -- I have always contended that the power to fight the Beast of Terror begins not in Washington, but within the local neighborhood, the city from which the state and nation is born.

          Nothing validates this position more than the current battle being waged by mayors of both small and large towns against both political, cultural and legal norms regarding marriage.
           Mayors, usually given about as much notice as an ant crawling up the rump of an elephant, have become the elephant over same-sex marriages.
           In New York and San Francisco, plus a variety of other states and communities, mayors have stood defiant against monolithic forces shouting down the rights of gay couples to legally wed.

        Despite one's view on the issue, the overriding truth is that a small-town mayor can and has the power to shake the foundations of the world's largest nation.   The actions of the mayors in favor of providing wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples has forced the President of the United States to call for a U.S. Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages.
            At the other end of the spectrum, it has forced civil rights leaders to look at the discrimination against gays legally marrying to same discrimination as denying blacks the right to vote.
            And, it was fomented not by any particular group of radical demonstrators, but rather from the last toe of the foot of government--the mayor.
             This power to change the views of America from the bottom of government up, suggests that if America wants to become a Nation of Vigilance, it must first embrace the power of the mayors.   If the mayors get behind a movement to turn their cities and towns into Villages of Vigilance, then there is a virtual guarantee that the Beast of Terror will find it nearly impossible to infiltrate our homeland with any real success.         

              The question we need to understand is "Why do the mayors have the ultimate power over the future of their community?"
               If we think of "power" we conjure up Hoover Dam.  Here, billions of gallons of water are converted into electricity that drives society's engines.   But, we forget the real power comes not from Hoover Dam, but from the tributaries--the rivers and streams--that feed the dam.         

        Back in 1776 when America was being formed, it took ten years for the Founding Fathers to draft the U.S. Constitution.   They took their time because they wanted to "get it right."   One of the conditions of "representative government" was that representation should not exceed one for 30,000 population.    The first legislature had 106 members representing 3.5 million population, a 1:33,000 ratio.
       This "ear-to-the-rail" community representation formula has been changed by politicians who felt too many representatives would clog up the system.    So, in 1911 politicians capped the number of representatives at 435.   Today, the representative ratio is 1:670,000.
         The odds of any "representative" knowing what the heartbeat of the their community is all about is slim to none.
           That brings us to the mayors.
           The mayor or city manager is structured at a ratio of 1:30,000.    In marketing and business, communities are based on this 30,000 formula.   Broken down, it represents about 10,000 households and a ratio of one business for every 25 people.
           Mayors have power.
           They are, ultimately, the Sentinel of Community Vigilance.   When they elect to stand up for their community, their Voices scream.

             The same-sex marriage issue is one example.
          Small-town, relatively obscure mayors, have captured national and international headlines.  They have put a burr under the saddle of the White House, but, most importantly, they remind us all that we the people, in the local communities, control the power that feeds Hoover Dam.  

             Despite one's view on the same sex marriage issue, the real message coming out of the sparks flying between local and national government is:  "Who's in charge of the local community?"
           The answer is:  The People.
           No one is closer to the people of a community that its mayor.   He or she walks with them, talks with them, eats with them, goes to church and plays golf or tennis with them, and, in many cases, runs a business in the local town or community.
           America's 290 million people fall into about 9,600 community groups of 30,000 populations.    Some are rural, some suburban, some metro.   In New York City, a population of 8 million, the city is carved into five boroughs and countless villages within them.   

           The point is that we have a tremendous Voice from the grass roots up.  If we, the Citizens of Vigilance, were to raise our Voices and demand that we become a Nation of Vigilance, that we wanted to take a National Vow of Vigilance against the Beast of Terror, our Voices would be heard in resounding resonance.
           The leader of these rallies should be the mayors.    Today, they are proving that they can stand up for the rights of those seeking marriage who are being denied that right.    In a way, the issue of same-sex marriage is not of the equal degree of protecting children from the wrath of the Beast of Terror unless one believes that the rights of the children to be free to marry whomever they wish, of the same or opposite sex, is an act of Terror against them.
            For many, this may be an impossible stretch to achieve, or others, it may be a long-awaited equal right, one that all children should have as part of their bundle of rights.
            I am not particularly concerned with the specific issues as much as the fundamental issue:  And that is the source of power in the local community to make and effect change.   That power rests in each household and within the confines of the community.   
            The community right is greater always than any other right, except the right of the Children's Children's Children.   And, the Voice of those rights is the mayor, the administrator of the community, elected by the people.

          These  9,700 mayors of communities of 30,000 or more throughout America are our Sentinels of Vigilance.   We need to look to them to be our true Voice of Vigilance.
                Ask your mayor or community leader to vote your City or Community a Community of Vigilance.
               Remember the power of the mayor's Voice.
               It is louder than any other in the nation because it is the sum of your Voice, and the Voice of all your neighbors.  Don't let it be muffled.
         

Mar 8--Self Immolation--The Ultimate Terror

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