GROUND ZER0, New York, New York--June 14, 2003-- Today is Flag Day in America.   Was the first official Flag Day observed in Philadelphia, 1893  a lucky day for Vigilance or for the Beast of Terrorism?

    On one side of the coin, America's anti-Terrorism hard-liners would argue the rug has been pulled from under the feet of Terrorism's living room.
     On the other side, the argument goes all that has been done is to stir up a hornets nest, enraging the Beast to attack with more ferocity than ever.

      Long ago in Greek mythology, Pandora's Box was opened.  Out of it flew Pride, Anger, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony and Sloth.    As these Seven Deadly Sins screamed out, attacking human beings and stinging them with vile defects of character, Hope was shut in the box by accident.   The person who opened Pandora's Box was afraid what was left was just another Beast of Terror.
     Today, the Demons of Terrorism are being hunted, and as they are driven into corners, they turn and fight like banshees, unwilling to bend or concede to the cries of civilization that bemoans death and destruction as a solution to human conflict.
     These Demons are deaf.
     They are also blind.
      All they see is hate and anger, and breed that into their children, emboss it on their genes so that each new generation of Demons spew more venom of even deadlier and irresponsible degrees.
      It is one thing to fly a plane into a financial building in New York City as a statement of Terror against the institutions of financial power.  It is quite another to board a bus with a bomb strapped to you and kill innocent men, women and children--and perhaps even your own allies--in senseless bloodshed.

     Then their are leaders of nations who force their people to eat boiled grass and starve as they recklessly marshal the ability to build nuclear weapons such as Kim Jong Il in North Korea.   They are followed by tribal chiefs in the Congo randomly killing anyone in sight as pockets of power try to climb to the top of the tyranny heap on the bones and blood of all those who get in their way.
       In the center of this vortex of human cruelty is a parent who grabs a child's hand and twists it, forcing the child to his or her knees in pain until tears flow, begging the parent to stop.   The parent, angry at the world, shouts at the child to "shut up or else," and the child cowers, fearful of what come next if he or she invades the parent's domain one more time.
      In still another arena, a child rushes home eager to show his mother or father the "excellent" the teacher marked on a piece of school work, only to be met at the door with the shouting of his mother and father at each other, and the cold wall of hatred and anger being volleyed between them.   The child, once high on expectations of receiving accolades, crunches the paper behind him or her, realizing that the loving embrace expected has been lost in yet another emotional battle between the parents and ducks into his or her room to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
        So whose flag do we hoist each day, to honor and salute as an icon, an image of what the world offers us, our children, their Children's Children' Children?
        Is it the Flag of Terrorism or the Flag of Vigilance?

      Pessimist would find it difficult to raise the Flag of Vigilance, for to fly that flag would require that its bearer believed that Courage, Conviction and Right Actions in behalf of the Children's Children's Children would surmount Fear, Intimidation and Complacency by at least One Percent--thus, even laterally, overpowering the Seven Deadly Sins with the Hope trapped in the box of human nature.
       Those who look at the world presently, who see the Mid East as cauldron of hate and anger waiting to explode once again, who see the United Nations sitting on its thumbs unable or inept to act as peace broker between tyrants and civilization, would raise the Beast of Terror's flag to the sounds of a funeral dirge, heads hung in disillusion and frustration.  They would see Fear, Intimidation and Complacency dominating any spurts of Vigilance.    Once the flag was up, they would run to avoid the blood dripping from it.

        Flag Day for me is not an annual event.
        Each day, I believe, we must raise the Flag of Vigilance even if the storm winds threaten to tear it to shreds.
        Each day, we must salute the Principles of Vigilance, and renew our vows to fight Terrorism's ugly intrusions into our personal lives, as well as committing to s supporting those victims of it beyond our borders.
        To vow to just protect ourselves from Terrorism--from the physical and emotional threats that knock on our private doors--is not enough.    To be a true Sentinel of Vigilance, we must extend our foresight to the future of all the children, not just our own.   We must be willing to reach out to the world, to move beyond the barriers of selfish Complacency and let the world know our Flag of Vigilance flies not only for our brood, but for all the mothers and fathers who seek security for their children, and their Children's Children's Children.
       To think that our children are safe just because we act Vigilantly at home is to deny they live in a borderless world and to intoxicate ourselves into thinking that Terrorism will stop its forays to the far corners of the earth.
       The bloodshed in the Congo is not different than that in the Middle East, or that spilled on Nine Eleven, or the lifting of tyranny in Iraq.    Neither is the emotional bloodshed of a parent tongue-lashing a child, yelling at it angrily, punching its emotional heart with brass knuckles, kicking its self worth and berating its existence.
        Terrorists are made not born.
        The child mistreated, unloved, uncared for as a human piece of clay to be molded and shaped into a man or woman of character, becomes fodder for Terrorism.   He or she can easily fall into the Pit of Terror, picking up the clubs of Fear, Intimidation and Complacency and marching along with the Beast of Terror who promotes these Triads of Terrorism as the only way to "pay back" society for victimizing the innocent, the downtrodden, the marginalized.
        It is easy to think of Flag Day as some inconsequential holiday where we parade up a street our national flag, and, if we remember, wear one or fly one.
       It is much harder to remember that Flag Day is about recalculating one's commitment to fighting the Beast of Terror.
       Nationalism doesn't exist any more.

      If we look at the world, nations are nothing more the composite of families who seek to provide their children with a better life.   While we have attached borders around these families, and given one another different names to describe our ethnicity, our religions, our cultures, in the final analysis we are all one--Parents of Vigilance or Parents of Terrorism.
      We are all Citizens of Vigilance or Victims of Terror.
      We need to think in terms of one global flag--the Flag of Vigilance.
      The more flags we hide behind, the more differences we propose to separate and divide us.
      Fly the Flag of Vigilance.
      Not just today.
      Not just yesterday.
      But everyday.
     When the world flies the Flag of Vigilance, the Beast of Terror will be put on notice that a United Nations of Vigilance is armed to the hilt with Sentinels of Vigilance who believe that Hope is more powerful than all the Seven Deadly Sins combined, and, that each member of the Nations of Vigilance will fight to turn Fear into Courage, Intimidation into Conviction, and Complacency into Right Actions for the sake of the Children's Children's Children.
     When that day arrives, which could be today if you take the Pledge of Vigilance, the Beast will turn tail and rue the triumph of Flag Day.
       

June 12--Blood Splattered Road To Peace Ruled By Beast Of Terror

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