1.5.11

Osama- My take

My Mom and I were in the midst of an Oprah: Behind The Scenes Marathon when my brother Face-Timed in with the "Obama caught Osama" news. My initial feeling surrounding this was one of grave sadness. This sadness deepened as I turned on MSNBC and saw people rejoicing. Crowds of people chanting, dancing and high-fiving like the Lakers just won another series.  I shared my unease with both, my mother and brother. My brother responded by highlighting the feelings of those who lost loved ones during the horrible 9/11 attacks. 


If I were to place myself in their shoes, I guess I would feel that a bit of justice and reasoning had taken place. However, I'm not in their shoes. In my world human life is sacred. I cannot rejoice that one or ANY was so dreadfully taken. Even one perceived as "evil" (as Bin Laden had been). 


In her Huffington Post article, Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband was a passenger on one of the ill-fated 9/11 planes writes, "My 12-year-old daughter will wake tomorrow to a safer world, hopefully a more peaceful world. And that brings me a rare sense of relief." Safer? Relief? Really? Am I the only person that feels this killing is the prelude to more death and attacks not only on the US, but just about every ally we have? This doesn't stop the war, it enrages it. When does it end? 


I cannot rejoice in man killing man. I'm not an activist, just a soul in love with the process of life. I dare not celebrate this news. I, instead, pray for peace for them, you and me.



1 comment:

  1. I can't help but feel, like you, a sense of sadness. I would have preferred that Osama bin Laden was captured and put on trial. Made to sit before other human beings, look them in the eye and explain how, without scruples, he can take human lives in the Name of a God whose singular expression is love. I realise however that situations are rarely ideal.

    I agree that it’s naive to think his death makes the world safer. While I think a death for a death is a strange measure of justice, I would never deny people who lost loved ones in 9/11, a sense of justice. I believe, however, that the US is, we all are, no safer than we were before he was killed. Osama's like a cancer: one cell might die but the rest keep multiplying.

    I sense we have come to a pivotal place where every major event hereon will reference Osama bin Laden’s killing as its defining moment.

    May God have mercy on us all.

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