GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--Dec. 19, 2003 -- It seems a wide stretch to equate parity between the Butcher of Baghdad and Jacko, the once-great innovator of 21st Century rock and roll.    But the differences between Saddam Hussein and Michael Jackson aren't as vast as one might think.

      The charge against them both is "crimes against humanity."  
       In both situations, the subject of the crimes is "Terrorism."
       Saddam Hussein, of course, has already been tried and some say convicted of brutalizing tens of thousands, even millions, of the citizens of his country.   Such crimes include torture and rape rooms, gassing Kurds, invading other countries and wantonly executing anyone who opposes his tyranny and oppression.
      Michael Jackson, the alleged King of Pop, may not have cut anyone's throat or dragged the bodies of his victims through the streets of Santa Barbara to show how powerful and above the law he was, but the nature of his alleged crimes make the skin crawl with the same horror that Saddam is charged with creating.
       Killing the innocence of children is an ugly crime, one that some might think ranks with the butchering of human life.

       Innocence is life.    Killing it is murder.
       Humans have two lives.  One is the exterior life--the life composed of flesh and blood--or, commonly called the "physical life."    It is separate from the "interior life," the life one lives inside his or her soul, or within the parameters of his or her "emotional chemistry."
        This distinction has been the dividing line between humans and beasts.   The human creature has the ability to "feel emotions," to live within its shell of body and bones.  A turtle, on the other hand, may simply be driven by instincts.  Its shell is its life.   Everything is about the physical world--about surviving.

        Turtles don't "think" or "feel" in the conventional sense humans do.  They don't reason or question their existence, or band together to figure out how to evolve better, or rearrange the world to fit their needs.   
      Mother Nature didn't flip on the "soul of the turtle switch" when she created creatures.  She saved that experiment for humans.    Reasoning, choice, morality, dreams, ambitions, love, hate, hope, dismay--all the massive feelings that make humans distinct from other creatures were given solely to one group, humans.

        It seems selfish that Mother Nature, or God, or the Higher Power, or whomever is credited with offering humans the ability to think and feel, limited that gift to only humans.   Nevertheless, for the moment, that's the case.   Perhaps one day, deep into space, humans will find they are one of many creatures given the ability to cogitate the reason for their existence.  But for now, the sum of gifts rests with one species--us.
       That means that Saddam Hussein and Michael Jackson stand before the court of humanity as one example of the flaws in human nature.
       Both are accused of misusing the power of choice and feeling over others.
       Both are charged with being Beasts of Terror.
       Jackson may appear at first glance to not stand on the same pedestal as Saddam Hussein until one peers deeper at his alleged crimes.
       Like Saddam, Jackson is a king, a leader of a sovereign state, the President of Modern Pop.    No other entertainer has had more impact on the youth and music of the modern world than Jackson.    Not long ago, Jackson was ranked as the number one known household name in the world.  

         Millions of young people followed him as the children of Iraq followed Saddam.   In Saddam's country, nearly half the population is under the age of 15.    Youth idolize leaders.    They aspire to "be like them."  Many youth transform the role of "parenthood" from their biological parents to their idols.  For many children, Jackson was their "father."  He struck the emotional notes of their hearts with his music.  His lyrics lulled them into worlds no parent could compete in.    They took his messages to bed, to school, when they were walking, going to parties.   He was their "god," their siren of transformation from one era to another, from pre-teen to teen, from teen to adult.

        Saddam ruled in a similar fashion.   He was the future of his nation.   The youth aspired to be "like" their leader--strong, defiant, powerful.    His sons controlled the media, issuing only positive public relations on Father Saddam.   He ruled absolutely and was adored with passion.
        Jackson is charged with the "abuse of power" over the innocent.   If the charges are true, he "killed" the innocence of his victim(s).   He tortured that "innocence" that thrives in a child's mind by using his "throne" to serve his own selfish desires.
        If convicted, he will be an authorized "Beast of Terror."  Now, he is only an "accused" one.

       But what about the impact his crime has on those who adored him?   There is a ripple effect on all his fans.   It comes in the form of a question:  "Did the parent violate the child?"  
        Jackson fans embraced him more as a "god" than as a person.   Now, they are faced with seeing their "god" deposed of power, his image smeared in the muck of human frailty and twisted persona.
       Their belief in their "god" has been shattered.
       He is now on trial as a Beast of Child Terror.   He is accused of the worst of crimes, the stealing of innocence, the rape, pillage and plunder of the helpless.
       Complacency asks us not to equate the crimes Jackson is supposed to have executed to the same level as those of Saddam Hussein.   But what difference exists between the two, assuming Jackson's guilt?
       Is the brutalization of a child's innocence equal to the brutalization of a society such as Iraq?
       Vigilance demands we see them on the same plane.   When an adult, responsible for the protection of the children, acts in such a manner as to maim, cripple and denigrate the child's innocence, then a crime against humanity has occurred.
       Iraq's children suffered horribly under Saddam's rule, of that there is no question.   Jackson is accused of a similar crime within the walls of his "palace."   He is alleged to have lured children to his bedroom and taken advantage of them.
       The Sentinels of Vigilance shudder at the thought a Parent of Vigilance wouldn't see the similarity between the two Beasts of Terror.    The degree of the crime is the same, the amounts of the crimes may differ, but the result is the same.    

        A child's innocence--the inner beauty of the child--has been forever marred, soiled, stained by actions of an adult placed in a role of duty to protect that innocence.
        What is important about how Saddam and Jackson relate is the role each Parent of Vigilance plays in raising his or her children.    
        A Parent of Vigilance has a duty to protect a child's innocence.  It is that innocence that is preciously protected by society.    Parents who abuse their children physically or emotionally are not exempt from becoming the Saddam Husseins or Michael Jacksons.
         Using Fear, Intimidation and Complacency to rear a child is the act of a criminal, for the child's innocence is endangered in the process.
         Unless a Parent acts to manage Fear with Courage, to displace Intimidation with Conviction, and to shun Complacency for Right Actions that benefit future generations, the child is in danger of become a victim of the Beast of Parental Terror.
         The case in point is thinking there is a difference between the charges against Jackson and the charges levied against Saddam Hussein.
         To wash away the differences because of the amount of brutalization Saddam delivered to his people is an act of Complacency.    Parents should see through the haze of the degrees of violence, and consider any act that endangers a child the only evidence necessary to convict.

         How many times can we Terrorize a child before we become a Terrorist?  
         How many times can we attack the innocence of a child before we commit a crime against humanity?
         Once?  Twice?   A hundred?  Tens of thousands?  

       That's why each and every Parent needs to become a Parent of Vigilance.   A Parent of Vigilance is wary of the Beast of Terror.  He or she keeps the Shield of Vigilance held high at all times, aware that the fragile nature of the child is perishable.
         Children, for example, who idolize others are sending parents a symbol that they do not have an idol at home.  They are reaching out to embrace something, somebody that is illusionary because the reality of the idol at home is void.
         A Parent of Vigilance learns to become the center of the child's universe.  When a Michael Jackson or a Saddam Hussein becomes the "father" or "mother" figure in a child's life, when someone is elevated to the highest level of a child's view, then it means that those around them are failing to meet that standard.

         Children seek to love and be loved.   When they idolize others, as countless millions have Michael Jackson, it suggests the parents of the child are practicing Complacency.   They are turning their heads to the thirst within the child, the desire to receive from the outside what it cannot get from the inside of the parents' hearts.
          The Saddam Husseins and Michael Jacksons serve as a reminder that the Beast of Terror can kidnap our children if we are not Vigilant.
          Be Vigilant.  Take the Pledge of Vigilance and protect your children from those who would seduce them into believing they love them more than you do.

Dec. 18--Putting Saddam In The Children's Zoo Of Vigilance

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