GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--July 10, 2003--  Evil still stalks the Shadow of Vigilance, and, perhaps it is the shadow itself.
   All things are composed of good and bad, right and wrong, plus and minus, for all things are imperfect in their nature, carrying the flaws of existence.

    Matter, all matter, is held together by the stress and strain of gravity, opposing forces pushing and pulling, creating tension that keeps things from flying apart, disintegrating into nothingness.
    Good and Evil are as much a part of the tension of existence as night and day, cold and hot, love and hate.
    That's why today, the six-hundred and sixty-sixth day from Ground Zero, September 11, 2001, is an important time to remind ourselves the Beast of Terror stalks us in the Shadow of Vigilance.
     666!
     This is the symbol of "evil," the "mark of the Devil."
     The 666 symbol comes from the Bible, representing the sign of the antichrist.  Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
      In the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, Christians are warned that the Beast lurks.  It's not unlike a scary movie where you see the "evil one" killed and sit back in your seat relaxed that the trauma is all over, only to have the last scene show the "creature" leaping up out of the water or grave, still alive, waiting for the next episode.

      The biblical beast described in Revelations has two forms, one designed to make war upon the saints and rule the earth, and the other to reinforce the power of the first beast, reminding all that the beast had children, dedicated to make them live in Fear, Intimidation and Complacency.
       Even if one is not a Christian, or opposes that which exists in the Bible as having any veracity, there can be no question that "evil" exists in the world in a wide variety of forms.
       Equally, no one can question that "good" exists, just as any sane person cannot deny that life has its "ups" and "downs," that is a composition of tragedy and triumph.
       The stoic may simply sit back and say:  "That's the way it is," giving no tribute to any spiritual force behind nature's oscillation between the peaks and valleys of human existence.

       But even the most Complacent must admit that forces exist to threaten the safety and security of the great mass of humanity seeking peace and prosperity.   We have our Hitlers to remind us there are those who would rise from the bowels of the earth to rape, pillage and plunder all in its way...... And our Saddam Hussein's.
        We also have ourselves to remind us of the Beast.
        Any wise human being has felt the roiling of the Beast of Terror within at one time or another.   Self-control is about managing the Beast Within.   
        All human history is woven with threads of the Beast's presence--the average person fighting the temptations of "evil" or succumbing to them create the great conflicts of human thought and history.
       Today, the glut of superhero movies ranging from Spiderman to the recent Hulk movie, reinforce our need to have champions fight off the forces of 666, those Beasts of Terror that stalk us all either in fact or fiction.

      The 666 of Ground Zero, is not a day to celebrate the presence of "evil," or to suggest that the "Beast of Terror" rules the earth.

       Today is just another day to remind ourselves that what happened on September 11, 2001, can happen again and again and again.
        Terrorism cannot be eliminated, it can only be managed, corralled, guarded so it doesn't escape and run free.
        Complacency allows it to escape.  When we turn our heads, Terrorism appears.

        Revelations in the Bible is a warning to all that just when one thought the water was safe, out pops the next Beast.

       And, in Revelations, it wasn't just one Beast that rose up, but two.   They were wounded Beasts, reminding those who thought they had been killed that wounds do not necessarily mean death.
        As  a Sentinel of Vigilance, I am aware that the Beast lives both inside me, and within others.  Some of our Beasts are more boisterous than others.   Our job as human beings is to manage our Fear, Intimidation and Complacency with Courage, Conviction and Right Actions for the Children's Children's Children.
        This means we must constantly be Vigilant, always aware the Beast of Terror stalks us, waiting for us to become Complacent, to weaken our resolve to evolve beyond the base nature of the Beast.

       Parents who scratch their heads and can't figure out why their child acts a certain way, or why there is turmoil in his or her life, need to be reminded that Vigilance is the reason.     When one slackens the Rope of Vigilance, the Beast of Terror takes control.
        Like the message in Revelations, the Beast of Terror hides in the dark corners of all our souls, waiting for the Beacon of Vigilance to stop shining, and in the dim, dank darkness of Complacency, it skulks out and grabs us, feeding us the sour fruits of pride, envy, anger, gluttony, sloth, lust and greed.   We start to see ourselves as losers, failures, unworthy beings.

       The Beast also raises his head and roars through the mouths of the righteous, those who protest the acts of Vigilance.   America's attack on Iraq has been under assault by those who would like to see the Beast Slayer crippled.    Despite the fact one of the world's great despots has been removed, and a signal of Vigilance sent to the other Beasts, there are those who would like to disarm the Sentinel of Vigilance, to make America and Britain helpless in any future efforts to keep the world from being ruled by the Beast.
       Ironically, these righteous Beasts have tried to emboss the symbol 666 on the forehead of President Bush, and make him the Beast.   They would rather have the focus on turning good into evil than to seek out the destruction of more evil.
       The Beast is slick.
       And smart.
       I do not underestimate him.
       Neither did those who wrote the Bible, or, for that matter, the Greeks who wrote the tragedies reminding us all what happens when we turn our backs on "evil," when our pride rises above our humility.
       You can keep the Beast away.   You can keep yourself from having the 666 symbol of Complacency stamped on your being.
       The Shield of Vigilance will protect you.
       All you have to do is take the Pledge of Vigilance.
       When you do, you'll erase 666.
      
 

July 9--A Yuppie's Duty To Battle The Beast Of Terror

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