Way to go America?
I guess I really don’t know what to say in a situation like this. As happy as the United States seems to be, to me there is something unsettling about celebrating a death, regardless of how horrific the being may have been (click on the title for a link to an interesting article).
I’m conflicted. There’s a quote from Mark Twain that states, “'I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." And I guess that holds true…I mean, I’m sure everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the real-life villains of our time died – Hitler, Hussein, Osama, etc. But what does this solve? What does this do?
Here is another quote, that I tend to lean towards:
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
We didn’t stop terrorism yesterday. We didn’t ensure that acts of violence against America would no longer happen. Instead, we made ourselves feel better by killing one – albeit, one very POWERFUL – individual.
Revenge is a vicious, scary cycle. We “got them back”, I guess, but now does that make it THEIR turn? When does it end? Like my staunchly anti-death penalty stance, I view murder for murder as one of the most hypocritical and unproductive punishments there are. It yields more anger, more hurt, and more hate.
This may seem a little off on a tangent, but stay with me here: throughout my life, I’ve at times wanted to be a vegetarian (hating the thought of an innocent animal dying). To me, eating those fat, juicy steaks I came to love were that much better if I internally convinced myself that the cow had died of natural causes. As yesterday’s news rolled around, the same idea came to mind – if he had died rather haphazardly I may have seen more joy in it. I would have thanked luck, not the SWAT team with machine guns.
Again, I’m conflicted. I know the world is a better place without him in it, but, taking away the individual, the idea of celebrating the murder of a person seems wrong. The elation of Americans proves that we are an insensitive, egocentric country.
And, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that one of the main reasons terrorists targeted us in the first place?
