GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--July 28, 2003--  July 28, 1914.   It was the first day of the First World War.

     It was the day Austria-Hungry attacked Serbia.   For some, it was the ultimate day of "infamy" because it ushered in "world wars," wars fought by nations against nations.
      America sent 4.7 million to battle the Beast of Terror in Europe.   Over 50,000 died in battle, and another 60,000 died of diseases.   World War I was fought in trenches, with a greater chance of dying from infection than by a German bullet.
      The U.S. wasn't alone in that war.   Other brave nations fighting to keep tyranny and oppression at bay lost far more of their Soldiers of Vigilance.  Great Britain battle deaths ranged at 900,000, France at nearly 1.4 million, Germany had 1.6 million and Russia, 1.7 million.  Again, total deaths due to disease doubled the number that died in battle.
      Official WWI battle deaths are reported at 7,485,800 - but to be realistic, push that total to at least 15 million to include the non-combat deaths resulting from diseases attacking soldiers in the trenches.      But war doesn't limit its blood to just the military.   Conservative estimates of non-combatant deaths in WWI equal over 6 million.
      Called the Great War, World War I was touted as the "war to end all wars."  It was thought that once one beat the Beast of Terror, forcing its surrender, the Beast would be tamed and conform to the world.  The Beast, it was thought, would seek peace and prosperity rather than dominance through bloodshed.  The idea was the world would turn against any nation aggressor, that everyone would band together so that bullies could be squashed.
      But the Beast of War had other ideas.   It knew that over time, nations would duck and hide behind the Wall of Complacency and tire of sending their young to die in foreign lands.

    In less than a generation, WWII was launched.  More than 16 million Americans fought in the Second World War; 292,000 died in battle deaths, and another 115,000 died of other deaths.
     Non-combatant deaths in WWII are estimated to be 26 million, including 6 million Jews exterminated in the holocaust, and Russia's loss of more than 7 million citizens warding off German attacks on its Eastern Front.
     Following WWII was Korea, then Vietnam and the Gulf War, and now, the War With The Beast of Terror.
      The original idea that the "Great War" was supposed to end the next war has almost evaporated.
        Americans  in 1914 traveled thousands of miles to die in the Great War to end all wars.   The U.S., unthreatened by the enemy, stood by its allies in Europe.  Many citizens who remembered the horrible losses of WWI were reluctant to declare war against Germany as Hitler's shadow cast its tyrannical spell on all of Europe.  Vigilance won over Complacency, for again, the U.S. was not under direct threat.

      Winston Churchill's famous radio message to the American public, "Hands Across The Sea," shoveled America into the war, forcing the Complacent out of their chairs and into the fires of combat Hell.
    Today, the war news in Iraq is about the on-going hunt for Saddam Hussein.  Saddam's sons were killed last week, and a special operations assault on the suspected hideout of Saddam failed again today.
       But snipers didn't.
       Like being bitten to death by ducks, American troops are being systematically killed, in groups of ones, twos and threes at a time.   It is a war of attrition, with the enemy hoping that Americans will tire of their brothers and sister, sons and daughters,  husbands and wives, buddies, uncles and aunts, and even grandfathers and grandmothers being shot or blown up trying to bring freedom to tyranny's former lair.
       Then there is Africa and North Korea, both raging fires of violence that need to be doused.
       The Great War ended not with a bang, but a whimper.

       Moans of the dead in its trenches can still be heard by Sentinels of Vigilance who cock their ears and listen to the words:  "The Beast is coming...beware the Beast."
       Paradoxically, today is not only the birthday of the modern World War, but it also hallmarks the birth of future wars, especially those that reach far out into centuries ahead when men and women patrol the universe looking for the Beast of Terror in deep space.
       The famous television series, Star Trek, later turned into a wealth of movies, was about a group of Sentinels of Vigilance patrolling the universe to keep the Beast of Terror, i.e,, the Klingons, from attacking the weak and vulnerable.
     

        Led by Captain James Kirk and his right hand man, Dr. Spock, the starship Enterprise shot at warp speed to intercept "evil" where ever it stuck its ugly head.  
        Today, the birthday of the onset of the first World War, also marks the death of 82-year-old Matt Jeffries, a Bronze Star Medal winner who was a flight engineer on B-17 bombers during WWII.   The B-17 is immortalized for being a "flying coffin" in one of the great books stabbing at the insanity of war--Catch 22.
     

       But the legacy Matt Jeffries leaves is not of his heroism in WWII.   He was an art director, and working with Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, drew the starship Enterprise.  He designed it--a battleship of the universe, a chariot for future Sentinel's of Vigilance.  The crew of the starship sought to protect the Children's Children's Children from all harm, alien and domestic.

       I thought it fitting that Matt Jeffries would select a monumental day in history to die.   His magical art captured the minds of millions and flung them at warp speed into the reality of the future--where the threats by Beasts of Terrors from other worlds reign as strong as the ones earthlings are facing fro Kim Jong Il, or any of the tyrants of Fear, Intimidation and Complacency poised to unleash violence indiscriminately to seek power over others.

      In the evolution of Star Trek, the series Voyager, continued the saga of deep space Vigilance.   The crew of Voyager was commanded by a woman captain, Katherine Janeway.   Instead of Klingons, now allies, the enemy was the Borg, machines that assimilate humans and turned them into robotic slaves.
      Jeffries had an eye to the future, and it wasn't one without the Beast of Terror or the need for Parents of Vigilance to remain armed against the crippling Triads of Terrorism--Fear, Intimidation and Complacency.
      The crew of his starship used Courage to battle Fear, Conviction to thwart Intimidation, and kept their focus on the prime mission, to do the Right Actions that protected the universe's Children's Children's Children rather than fall into the quagmire of Complacency.
      Today, the United State is like Star Trek's "Federation."   In a yet unheralded way, it is the starship Enterprise, seeking to protecting the Earth from the Klingons and Borg who threaten the security of our earthly "universe."

     Critics of America's foray to face off the Beast of Terror chide our actions.   Many sit on their hands, refusing to support the U.S. by sending troops or money to help defray the battle with the Beast.  These nations hide behind technicalities while Americans die daily, giving their lives so the Beast will not spread to the safety and security of those who watch the blood being spilled.
      It takes great Courage, Conviction and a dedication to Right Actions for Americans to shoulder the duty to battle the Beast almost single-handedly.  This is not to take away any of the glory deserved for those who support the U.S. such as Poland, Britain, Australia and soon Japan.   But it does beg the question about France, Germany, Russia and other nations threatened ultimately by the future "Klingons" and "Borg" who seek to assimilate our children and enslave them to their will.
      If Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, sets an example of tyranny where his people boil grass and starve as he funnels precious resources to build nuclear weapons and fund a military whose single purpose is to keep his people enslaved in poverty, then we have many miles to go before we can patrol the universe to keep alien invaders away from earth's children.
      Matt Jefferies knew the Beast of Terror could never be killed.
      When one Beast dies, another is born.

      The starship's mission was to bring the Sentinels of Vigilance to the doorstep of the Beast, and let the Beast know he would have to fight through all the Parents of Vigilance to reach the children.   The starship Enterprise was and is, the futuristic symbol of Vigilance.
       So, today, on the birth of the true Great War and death of the creator of the Ship of Vigilance, we all need to think through our roles in protecting our children.
       To arm ourselves, we do not all need guns.   But we do need the Shield of Vigilance.  
       Great armies such as the Romans marched into the sun during battle, holding up gleaming shields they had polished the night before so that the sun blazed off them, blinding their enemy.
       Each Citizen of Vigilance can carry a brilliant Shield of Vigilance by signing the Pledge of Vigilance below.    Once it is printed and signed, and the Principles of Vigilance understood, the Parent of Vigilance can hold it up so that the sunlight bounces off it and blinds the Beast of Terror seeking to assimilate their children.

       Today is a great day to start.  It is the day we remember the onset of the First World War, the birthday of the Great War against the Beast of Terror and a tribute day to the creator of the starship Enterprise, the Ship of Vigilance.
        Take the Pledge today, and salute Vigilance.    Perhaps one day, the wars will be over.  But right now, they aren't.
        Climb aboard the Enterprise.   Be a crewmember on the Ship of Vigilance.   Matt Jefferies is already aboard and waiting to greet you.

July 27--Japan Wages War On Iraq's Beast of Terror

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