GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--July 6, 2003--  Racism takes many shapes and sizes, but all of them, regardless of their composition, are products of the Beast of Terror.
    No one can question that America's foundations were based, in part, on slavery.    Twenty-five of the 55 members of the Constitutional Convention owned slaves.   At the time, it was part of the process of many countries around the world, and the threads of the past still clung to the fabric of America's founders.
     Even the Constitution called for counting a slave as 3/5th of a person for purposes of establishing Congressional representation by population.

     Today, activist groups seek to rub the salt of slave history into the wounds of America's racism.  One of the strongest Voices in this 21st effort to keep the fires of racism flaming is the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, lobbying for a variety of ways to demoralize the image of the Founding Fathers from the position of "Liberty Givers" to "Liberty Hypocrites."
     Among other issues, the coalition wants American history books to tell the students who learn about the forces of this nation's foundations that the leaders of America were not unlike Enron or World Com, and spoke out of two sides of their mouths.
    The sheer name of the coalition:  "Avenging the Ancestors Coalition" tells the story.
    "Avenge" means to extract satisfaction from a wrong by punishing the wrongdoer.  The word comes from its mother, "vengeance," which implies using great force or vehemence to an extreme or excessive degree.
     Advocates of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition (AAC) would like to carve the heart out of those "white leaders" who stand as icons of Liberty and show the world their purity of spirit was soiled by their racist nature.   
      They cite facts such as George Washington having 100 slaves at Mt. Vernon, and that Benjamin Franklin had five slaves, but they are not sure if Franklin still owned them at the time of the framing of the Constitution.   

       Little is mentioned about the 30 members of the Constitutional Convention who owned no slaves, or that a great force in America to end slavery--which at the time was an accepted method of labor for some- resulted in the most brutal war in American history pitting brother against brother to provide freedom for all.
       I look at the dung-slinging efforts to soil the pages of history with an emphasis on racism not unlike the situation in Iraq.    Americans went to that country to free it from tyranny and oppression, risking their lives to ring the Liberty Bell for a people quashed under the thumb of tyrannical slavery.
      Now, a number of them throw rocks at America, burn its flag, and snipe and kill its soldiers trying to stabilize the nation and expose it once more to the chaos of the past.    Once cheering America for freeing them, they now jeer.  And kill.
      They are avenging their Liberation.
      America's history of racism is not unique.
      Anyone who studies history will quickly see that most nations tried to preserve their ethnicity, and some fiercely still do.  Even in the 21st Century try to get Japanese citizenship if you are a Korean, for example.

     In Moscow yesterday, two Chechnyn suicide bombers killed 16 people and wounded 60 at a rock concert.   The Chechnyn avengers killed 19 people a month ago, and in May, another 139 to avenge their Islamic rights.
      Not to support racism or to imply its acceptance, the historic reality of the issue is that it exists in a wide variety of forms, usually fomented by those who constantly flash the race card in everyone's face and, despite all efforts to make just the equality, refuse to accept any concessions except those that include extraordinary debt.
       Rewriting America's history books to teach the children of this nation that the Founding Fathers were racists, hypocrites, is one meager example of the intent of vengeance.
       It is like having the priest, minister or rabbi come to the house of a family and gather the children of the parents in a room and explain to the children all the sins and moral violations that "mom" and "dad" committed to insure the children lose all respect for any moral teachings or character symbols their parents may be trying to reflect.
        Ultimately, the result, of course, is to stir the coals of discontent, to cut off the legs of any "moral authority" that the parents might wish to exercise.
        Avengers of anything are not pure, for their mere desire to "punish" those who "wronged" others serves no purpose to the present or future.
        If Americans look at society today in a continuum extending from the Constitutional Convention to July, 2001 and pose the question:  "Do African-Americans have equal rights or more rights today than the average citizen?"
        If one considers the recent affirmative action decision by the Supreme Court a credit to the rights of minorities, there is certainly an edge when it comes to law school.
       Also, if one dials up any channel on television and uses Kentucky windage by looking at the percent of blacks in commercials, it is not as though American living history has done anything but promote the issue of equality, if not, exaggerate it.

       Racial problems seem always to be heaped on the shoulders of white history rather than treated as a issue from within that particular racial community.   It is always easier to point fingers at others than to examine one's self--even if when one points a finger, three others point back at the accuser.
        And, the constant seeking of "revenge" against the white foundation of America seems to be more Terroristic than Vigilant.
        Terrorism is about infecting a society with Fear, Intimidation and Complacency.   It doesn't take suicide bombs to always blast away the cornerstones of Vigilance--the idea that we all stand up on our own two feet with Courage, Conviction and take the right action for all future generations, i.e, the Children's Children's Children regardless of race, color or creed.
         A Terrorist, for example, might want to blow up what it considers an historical myth, and rewrite the textbooks to make it appear the intent of the Founding Fathers was not equality at all, but simply a ploy to keep the whites in power and suppress the blacks and Native Americans.
         Twisting history to meet avenging agendas can also be intended to corrupt rather than inform, to develop hate rather than love, and to polarize rather then enjoin.

       Integrating not only America but the world is a challenge requiring Vigilance not Vengeance.  Vengeance is about trying to place one's foot in the same place in a stream, an impossible task that requires turning back the clock and stopping time.   The attempt to rewrite history is such a futile effort.
        Vigilance, on the other hand, is subscribing to what is right for future generations.   It is about trudging forward, not slipping back.  It is about seeing the children of the earth as one body of innocence, and sacrificing all one's prejudice and bigotry to offer the Children's Children's Children a world in which harmony not dissent exists.
         If history books are to be rewritten, they should not be done so to deface the past by fomenting racism.  Instead, they should be lessons to the future, the future that shows the evolution of integration, the progression of equality.

       Today, America is a melting pot of humanity.   Hispanics, blacks, Asians, Native Americans and whites are the compost that fertilize the future.   The black population of approximately 12 percent of the U.S. population is one of many diverse groups that make up America's colorless society.
         By 2050 projections show the white majority will become about 50 percent of the total population, and that it will shrink from there.
         Laws today and efforts toward color blinding America seem to make it clear the original intent of the Founding Fathers have indeed come to fruition in slow, sometimes painful ways.  But to go back in time, to rip out the pages of history and make it appear that the Founding Fathers were no better than corrupt 21st Century corporate managers trying to look good while stealing bread from the employees, is a definite act of Historical Terrorism, specifically targeting the children.

       On this 4th of July Weekend, it is good to remember that Vigilance will lead us all into a safer future, not vengeance.  July 5th is the Manumission Day Celebration in New York City when slavery was abolished in the state 176 years ago.   An evening of  African-American culture  featuring negro spirituals, readings from slave narratives, and African drumming and gospel music performances.
         Hopefully the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition will read this and change their names to the Parents of Vigilance and Ancestors of Vigilance Coalition.  If they do that, they will see that writing history in behalf of their children and all children is much better than rewriting it.

July 5--The Mouse That Roared Vigilance

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