I dropped off the grid for a week because of crazy weather, crazy days at work and a crazy trip to Washington D.C. Instead of reflecting upon all that, I feel compelled to reflect on the news of the day if only for my own sake so I can remember years from now how I’m feeling.
After days of little to no sleep (see aforementioned craziness), I went to bed really early last night. I woke up to texts, tweets, e-mails and Facebook postings about Osama bin Laden’s death, all of them rife with emotion. My initial reaction was one of surprise. I admit, I never thought bin Laden would ever be found alive. The emotions being expressed in my Facebook feed were ones of victory, cheer, pride and expectations of peace and safety.
Major events like this no doubt will produce a complex range of emotions — very personal emotions that are formed through the lenses of each person’s own experiences. I don’t want to minimize anyone’s emotions. If your reactions were among ones of celebration, victory and pride, I respect that. I also acknowledge that mine are very different. My emotions include sorrow, gratitude, concern and prayer.
I continue to mourn the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during and after the Sept. 11 attacks and as a result from the efforts to avenge those attacks abroad — this means everyone, not just Americans. I am heartbroken for those folks’ families and for the fact that nothing — certainly not the killing of bin Laden — will bring those people back. I am sad that we’ve spent trillions of dollars and allowed so many lives to be sacrificed for the end goal of finding this one man. Will his demise mean others will be saved from a horrific death? Perhaps so, and if that is the case I am grateful for that result. I also worry that we are no safer now and our troops are perhaps even in more immediate danger from others who will want to avenge bin Laden’s death or carry on for their perceived leader. As CIA director Leon Panetta said, ‘Though Bin Laden is dead, al-Qaida is not.’ Neither is terrorism.
As a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic, I cling to the teachings to love my enemy and to Proverbs 24:17: ‘Should your enemy fall, do not rejoice, when he stumbles do not let your heart exult.’ I was also very moved by this column from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: ‘Hate Osama, but do not rejoice in his death.’
I pray that we will be able to look back on this date in the far future and be able to consider it a turning point toward peace. I pray every single day for peace and for every human to hunger for and work toward peace.
Editor’s note: This is meant to be my own personal reaction in an effort to preserve it for my memory for years to come. If it is not your own reaction, that is fine. My insistence to you is that the comment section remain a civil zone. I will allow comments sharing reactions contrary to mine, but I will NOT allow uncivil comments.
I completely agree. When I heard of his death, my first reaction was “Eh.” I don’t quite understand the urge to go celebrate in the streets — this war isn’t against just one man, nor was 9/11 perpetrated by him alone. And just because he was the face of the enemy doesn’t mean the terrorists are all disbanding now. It changes nothing, really.
It helps me to read posts like this that speak to how I am feeling. Last night when I voiced my discomfort with all the cheering one Twitter follower told me to celebrate. No. I don’t want to. It doesn’t make me un-American. It just means I’m feeling this differently than her. I’m not telling anyone not to cheer, I’m just sitting with the mountain of feeling that has risen in the wake of this news. I definitely don’t feel any safer. A friend said it best: “…I define victory as the abolishing of an idea that harms the world, rather than the man given the power to lead its cause.”
I had a hard time putting into words how I felt until I read that post from the Rabbi. Here’s another story that resonated with me.
Well, I think no matter what, it is an emotional event. And I agree with you on a lot of your points. I also quoted that Bible verse on my blog.
There’s no right or wrong way to feel, that’s for sure. That’s why I’m not going to tell anyone else what they’re feeling or how they’re reacting is wrong. I just want to remember how I felt many years from now.
I think you said this very well. And I agree completely. I can’t celebrate anyone’s death. And I HATE the “we’ll stick a boot in your a**, it’s the American way” Toby Keith approach to international relations I keep seeing around me. Sometimes I don’t think I fit in here. Well, more than sometimes 🙂
I agree with your view. All the deaths and money spent make me feel a bit nauseous.