GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--July 21, 2003-- The Beast of Terror ducked Central Park yesterday as 580 archers from 50 countries battled with bow and arrows to decide who was the best at putting arrows in a bulls eye.

     Included in the pre-Olympic 42nd World Outdoor Target Archery Competition was an Iraqi team, the first to compete since Saddam Hussein was deposed..

   One of the major battles was between the Mothers of Vigilance: the U.S. women's team recurve bow competition.  They were pitted  against French women archers vying for the Gold Medal.
    The U.S. team, led by World Archery Champion 21-year-old Mary Zorn of Warrenville, Ill., beat the French team to take the Gold Medal and a berth at next summer's Olympics in Athens.
    Prior to the archery competition, held in the North Meadow of Central Park as part of Central Park's 150th Anniversary Celebration, some razzle-dazzle took place.  To hype the archery competition for the media, two Italian archers, Marco Galizazzo and Michele Frangilli, shot arrows from atop a New York taxi to the whir and click of television and newspaper cameras.
     Clearly absent from the event was the Beast of Terror.
     He was the bull's-eye of the event.
     The archery competition was about winners, not losers.

     It was about nations from all over the world working together in bloodless competition, ranging from the smallest such as Slovenia to the largest that included China.
     The Olympic Games, from ancient history, was the time during which all warring nations put down their arms and proclaimed peace during the event.   It was a respite from war, a time to take a break away from the bloodletting of human nature.
      Yesterday, as I watched the final competition unfolding in Central Park, I thought about the Beast of Terror being denied the Fear, Intimidation and Complacency that leads to and stirs the thirst for war in the minds of nations, fueled by those who seek conquest over others at everyone's expense.   These Beasts rattle their suicide bombers.
      As the arrows flew, I saw them as "Arrows of Vigilance."  They were straight and true, aimed at a bulls-eye far away.
   

       When I was younger, I was an archer.   I shot arrows endlessly, watching them arc toward their mark and enjoying the elation when they hit the target.   I thought of the past when I notched an arrow and pulled the bowstring back, about how simple the world would be if everyone used a bow and arrow and a target to decide conflicts.   Whomever could hit the bulls-eye the most won.
       War never decides victory.
        A Terrorist bomb or a smart bomb dropped from thousands feet above ultimately decides nothing but destruction.
       The true victory for people is not bloody combat, but aiming at the bulls-eye.
       Terrorism can only be eliminated when we see the bulls-eye of life as Vigilance.
       When we realize that our enemy is Fear, Intimidation and Complacency, we can draw our bowstring back and aim the Arrow of Vigilance at these three Triads of Terrorism.
        We can hit the bulls-eye when we shoot for replacing Fear with Courage, changing Intimidation to Conviction, and, by focusing not on the Complacency that war and violence are solutions to human conflicts but rather seeing that what is Right for the Children's Children's Children is the true bulls-eye.
         The Pledge of Vigilance is a target.
         The bulls-eye, the center ring, is Right Actions in behalf of the Children's Children's Children.

         I hope one day that the world will be full of Archers of Vigilance, men and women who can shoot the Arrow of Vigilance into the center ring--into the heart of the Beast of Terror--by doing what is right for our future generations.
         What is right for them is not to become Complacent.   It is not sitting on the sidelines watching Olympic competitors launching arrows at speeds up to 150 mph at targets 70 meters away vying for Gold Medals, but rather to become an archer.
         Every man and woman on this earth is by the nature of his or her being a Sentinel of Vigilance, responsible for shooting the Arrows of Vigilance so accurately that the Beast of Terror hides in his cave, fearful that if he sticks up his head he or she will catch an arrow.

          You can shoot an Arrow of Vigilance today, your first Olympic Arrow.
          And, you can hit the bulls-eye.
          Simply print out the Pledge of Vigilance and use it as your target for all your thoughts and actions.
          Practice putting Fear, Intimidation and Complacency to rest.   Fill your quiver with Courage, Conviction and the Right Actions necessary to protect the Children's Children's Children.
          When you become an Archer of Vigilance, you'll not have to wait on someone else to protect you or your family.
          Make the Pledge of Vigilance your Target of Vigilance.
          Sign it today.
          Hit the bulls-eye!

July 20--Stumbling Over Terrorism On Road To Vigilance

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