ART
TERRORISTS
STEAL
BEAST
OF
TERROR’S
"SCREAM!"
OVERVIEW:
The
world
famous
painting
by
Edvund
Munch,
"The
Scream,"
was
stolen
by
armed
robbers
with
ski
masks
last
week
in
Oslo,
Norway.
But
what
does
the
painting
really
mean?
Is
it
a
symbol
that
we
all
walk
the
tightrope
of
madness,
Terror
and
self-destruction?
Or,
does
it
mean
we
can
all
find
ways
to
use
Vigilance
to
protect
us
from
the
"haunting
howl"
the
painting
illustrates?
Find
out
how
to
manage
your
own
"Scream"
with
the
Sentinels
of
Vigilance.
GROUND
ZERO PLUS 1078 DAYS--New York, NY, Monday, August 23, 2004--It’s
not something you can just sell at a swap meet. Everybody in
the world—with the exception of those tucked quietly in
the deepest womb of a primordial rain forest—has some
knowledge of The Scream, Edvund Munch’s world-famous
painting of human terror.
The
painting
depicts
an
emaciated
man
howling
on
a
bridge,
haunted
by
demons
that
no
one
but
he
can
see.
The
Expressionist
icon
is
valued
between
$50
and
$100
million,
but
experts
contend
it
is
priceless.
 |
The
painting
"The
Scream"
was
stolen
by
Terror
Thieves |
The
armed
robbers
stuck
guns
in
the
face
of
museum
guards
at
11
a.m.
with
more
than
80
witnesses,
cut
the
wires
holding
two
famous
pieces
of
Munch's
art
and
then
sped
away
in
a
station
wagon
in
Oslo,
Norway.
The
vehicle
and
broken
glass
from
the
frames
were
found
later,
but
no
sign
of
the
robbers.
Ironically,
a
decade
earlier,
another
group
of
robbers
stole
The
Scream
from
the
Munch
Museum
and
tried
to
ransom
it
back.
They
were
caught
in
a
sting
operation
conducted
by
Norway
officials
in
concert
with
Scotland
Yard.
Munch,
a
recluse
who
lived
in
Oslo
in
a
large
house
but
only
occupied
two
cluttered
rooms,
never
sold
his
paintings.
He
bequeathed
them
upon
his
death
in
1894
to
the
city
of
Oslo.
City
officials
built
the
Munch
museum
to
house
the
paintings.
The
Munch
painting
thieves
aren't
just
art
thieves—they
are
Terror
Thieves.
They
stole
the
symbol
of
Terror
itself.
Munch's
infamously
famous
painting
reflects
the
inner
Terror
that
humans
try
to
suppress,
bury,
ignore,
deny
to
survive
in
the
world's
reality.
Yet
the
painting
has
found
its
way
into
the
mainstream
of
modern
life.
Its
likeness
appears
on
coffee
cups,
t-shirts
and
a
myriad
of
different
venues
as
a
subtle
reminder
that
we
all
walk
on
the
razor's
edge
between
civilized
balance
with
a
world
of
constant
emotional
threat
and
the
unraveling
of
all
our
mental
health
defenses.
The
Scream
isn't
about
what
goes
on
outside
our
world,
but
more
about
the
containment
of
our
Terror.
It
expresses
the
"tipping
point"
when
we
reach
a
point
where
we
can
no
longer
restrain
the
Beast
of
Internal
Terror
and
it
escapes
in
howling
madness.
 |
Edvund
Munch's
"The
Scream"
reflects
inner
terror
|
The
bridge
depicted
in
the
painting
represents
that
archway
between
normality
and
insanity,
and
the
people
walking
across
in
the
background
symbolize
those
who
have
conquered
the
Beast
of
Terror's
pressures
while
the
howling
madness
of
the
main
focus
reminds
the
viewer
that
within
each
of
us
is
our
own
"Scream"
doing
push-ups,
waiting
for
that
moment
when
the
world's
pressure
cooker
explodes
and
we
are
defenseless
to
constrain
its
ejection.
 |
Munch's
painting
was
popularized
by
placing
'his
scream'
on
T-shirts,
etc.
|
Human
madness
takes
many
forms.
It
can
be
subtle
or
horrible.
Adolph
Hitler
represents
historically
one
of
the
great
madmen
of
all
times,
followed
closely
by
Nero,
and,
some
might
include
Saddam
Hussein
and
Osama
bin
Laden
in
such
a
grouping.
But
those
who
percolate
to
the
surface
of
human
madness
such
as
the
mother
who
drove
her
car
into
a
lake
with
her
three
children
inside
to
drown
them
are
overshadowed
by
the
countless
tens
of
thousands
who
live
in
the
"Quiet
Scream."
These
are
the
people
who
suffer
daily
from
the
effects
of
Fear,
Intimidation
and
Complacency--the
Triads
of
Terrorism--and
hang
their
heads
as
they
walk,
feel
as
though
their
lives
are
a
rut,
who
find
it
difficult
to
look
proudly
in
the
mirror
at
their
reflection,
who
feel
they
are
losers
and
that
the
world
has
gifted
all
others
but
them.
 |
Crippled
souls
suffering
from
daily
Fears,
Intimidations
and
Complacencies
become
their
own
"Quiet
Screams"
|
These
crippled
souls
become
the
"Quiet
Screams"
that
truly
represents
Munch's
self-portrait
of
himself
and
all
others
who
allow
their
Beast
of
Terror
to
dominate
their
Sentinels
of
Vigilance.
The
United
States
felt
the
power
of
The
Scream
on
September
11,
2001.
I
was
at
Ground
Zero
that
day
and
remember
the
look
that
Munch
captured
reflected
on
thousands
of
faces
that
stampeded
toward
safety
when
the
Twin
Towers
collapsed.
Their
eyes
were
glazed
in
shock
and
fear,
some
faces
were
twisted
in
a
death
mask
as
the
world
seemed
to
come
to
an
end
and
each
person
faced
the
threat
of
the
final
moment.
Next
to
me
women
screamed
in
guttural
agony--"We're
all
going
to
die!
We're
all
going
to
die!"
In
a
moment
of
horror
where
people
are
powerless
over
life
and
death,
the
defenses
of
human
conviction
come
under
severe
attack.
There
is
no
room
for
Complacency
in
such
a
moment.
One
either
stands
up
to
the
Face
of
Fear
or
crumbles.
 |
The
United
States
felt
the
power
of
The
Scream
of
The
Beast
of
Terror
on
NineEleven
|
Munch's
The
Scream
illustrates
how
we
crumble,
how
the
bridge
between
our
internal
sanity
and
our
internal
insanity
can
collapse
when
we
least
expect
it.
The
reality
is
that
human
character
is
formed
from
birth.
Children
who
are
taught
to
face
their
fears
have
different
constitutions
than
those
who
are
fed
the
Beast
of
Terror.
A
Parent
of
Vigilance,
a
Love
One
of
Vigilance,
has
learned
that
we
must
all
be
on
guard
against
the
Beast
of
Terror,
and
that
as
adults
we
have
a
primary
purpose
to
pass
on
to
our
children
and
loved
ones
the
power
to
stand
up
to
Fear,
Intimidation
and
Complacency
from
within.
We
learn
to
recognize
the
Beast
Within
by
admitting
to
the
presence
of
it,
and
understanding
that
those
feelings
of
inadequacy,
of
self
defeat,
of
unworthiness
or
being
lesser
than
others,
are
nothing
more
than
the
gestation
of
our
own
"Quiet
Scream,"
and,
that
if
we
do
not
check
them,
if
we
allow
them
to
grow,
they
become
our
living
monsters,
breeding
within
us
until
one
day
we
stand
on
a
bridge,
twist
our
faces
into
a
mask
of
emotional
pain,
and
hurl
out
a
Scream
as
Munch
so
aptly
captured.
That's
why
our
first
obligation
in
life
is
to
take
the
Vow
of
Vigilance
and
defend
ourselves
against
our
own
"Scream."
 |
We
cannot
pass
on
to
our
children.....
|
We
cannot
pass
on
to
others
what
we
have
not
ourselves
learned
to
manage.
The
Pledge
of
Vigilance
is
the
first
step.
By
taking
it,
we
set
ourselves
up
for
the
Vow
of
Vigilance.
We
admit
to
ourselves
that
we
need
the
support
of
the
Sentinels
of
Vigilance
to
manage
our
own
"Quiet
Scream."
 |
...what
we
have
not
learned
to
manage
|
When
we
continue
daily
to
reaffirm
the
Pledge,
it
becomes
a
Vow
of
Vigilance.
By
reaffirming
the
Pledge,
we
are
affirming
our
commitment
not
just
to
the
management
of
our
own
Beast
of
Terror,
but
more
importantly,
to
protecting
our
children,
our
loved
ones
from
the
Beast's
wrath.
We
connect
to
our
children,
to
our
loved
ones,
by
learning
to
face
Fear
with
Courage,
Intimidation
with
Conviction,
and
Complacency
with
Right
Actions
that
benefit
future
generations.
This
last
element
keeps
our
efforts
from
being
selfish,
and
fuels
us
when
we
think
we
have
"done
our
best"
and
need
not
do
more.
Complacency,
the
primary
food
of
the
Beast
of
Terror,
is
symbolized
by
the
robbers
who
donned
ski
masks
and
ripped
away
the
priceless
piece
of
Munch's
art.
Ten
years
earlier
the
museum
was
robbed,
but
no
additional
security
was
put
in
place.
Critics
of
the
museum
question
why
the
officials
left
the
painting
vulnerable
to
Terrorist
attacks.
The
same
could
be
said
of
the
United
States
regarding
September
11,
2001.
Why
did,
after
Pearl
Harbor,
the
United
States
reach
a
point
of
Complacency
where
it
believed
it
was
exempt
from
future
Terrorism?
On
a
much
smaller
yet
more
populace
scale,
what
makes
a
parent
think
his
or
her
child
is
not
being
attacked
daily
by
countless
forms
of
Fear,
Intimidation
and
Complacency?
What
makes
a
parent
think
a
child
has
the
power
to
single
handedly
conjure
the
Courage,
Conviction
and
take
the
Right
Actions
to
fend
off
his
or
her
"Quiet
Screams."
This
is
compounded
by
a
parent
who
looks
in
the
mirror
and
doesn't
feel
that
the
reflection
he
or
she
sees
is
worthy
enough,
good
looking
enough,
rich
enough,
attractive
enough,
gifted
enough,
happy
enough.
The
mirror
is
our
ultimate
measurement
of
our
self
image.
To
do
a
self-image
inventory
all
we
need
do
is
peer
at
our
reflection
and
ask:
"What
do
I
like
most
about
myself?
What
do
I
like
least?"
If
there
are
more
qualities
one
doesn't
like
than
those
atttributes
liked--emotionally
as
well
as
physically--then
the
Beast
of
Terror
has
domination.
A
child
suffers
the
same
"Quiet
Scream."
But,
the
child
does
not
have
the
ability
to
defend
himself
or
herself
from
Munch's
portrait.
The
hard
shell
of
reality
hasn't
yet
calloused
itself.
 |
Munch's
painting
is
a
message
to
the
Parents
of
Vigilance
to
arm
themselves
and
their
children
against
their
Screams
and
The
Beast
of
Terror
|
This
is
where
the
Parent
of
Vigilance
can
become
the
greatest
ally
to
the
child.
He
or
she
can
walk
on
the
Bridge
of
Munch,
reach
out,
and
hold
the
child
so
that
the
child's
"Scream"
cannot
become
the
child's
sole
possession.
A
Parent
of
Vigilance
is
quick
to
share
with
a
child
or
loved
one
that
we
all
have
those
feelings,
but
it
is
what
we
do
with
them
that
matters.
If
we
can
conjure
One
Percent
more
Courage,
One
Percent
more
Conviction,
and
take
One
Percent
more
Right
Actions
in
the
face
of
our
own
"Quiet
Scream"
we
have
the
opportunity
to
trump
the
Beast
of
Terror's
efforts
to
render
us
powerless,
victims,
serfs
of
his
Fear,
Intimidation
and
Complacency.
Hopefully,
the
robbers
of
Munch's
painting
will
look
at
what
they
have
stolen
not
as
a
famous
painting,
but
as
a
symbol
to
all
the
children
of
the
world
that
they
do
not
have
to
Scream.
Perhaps
they
will
realize
that
the
painting
is
a
message
to
the
Parents
of
Vigilance
to
protect
their
children
and
loved
ones
from
leaving
a
child
stranded
on
the
Bridge
of
Howl,
where
no
one
hears
the
pain
and
suffering
that
rushes
out
from
the
dank
caves
of
the
Internal
Beast.
Edvund
Munch
didn't
paint
"The
Scream"
to
have
it
stolen.
He
painted
it
for
all
the
Parents
of
Vigilance
to
remind
them
their
children
do
not
have
to
stand
on
a
bridge
and
howl
with
haunting
agony.
 |
Walk
with
your
child
in
the
Sunlight
of
Vigilance
|
Instead,
they
can
walk
in
the
sunlight
of
Vigilance,
as
the
couple
behind
the
howling
face
is
depicted.
They
can
be
free
from
the
threat
of
Terror,
guarded
by
the
Pledge
of
Vigilance.
Protect
yourself
and
your
loved
ones
from
your
own
"Scream."
Take
the
Pledge
of
Vigilance
today.
Edvund
Munch
would
be
pleased
if
you
did.
Go
To
August
21
Story
"The
Terror
Of
A
Summer's
Night
At
Lincoln
Center"
»
leave
your
thoughts
about
this
story
in
our
Guest
Book
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