“He (Osama bin Laden) was our kind of guy until he wasn’t, an ally during the Cold War until he no longer served our purposes. The problem with Osama bin Laden was not that he was a fanatical holy warrior; we liked his kind just fine as long as the infidels he targeted were not us but Russians and the secular Afghans in power in Kabul whom the Soviets backed.
“But when bin Laden turned against us, he morphed into a figure of evil incarnate, and now three decades after we first decided to use him and other imported Muslim zealots for our Cold War purposes, we feel cleansed by his death of any responsibility for his carnage….”
– Robert Scheer, “A Monster of Our Own Creation”, Huffington Post, May 4, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-scheer/a-monster-of-our-own-crea_b_857296.html
The Psychology of Revenge
“While the killing of Osama Bin Laden is being enthusiastically celebrated throughout America and some parts of the world, to say that such merriment is out of order will surely be considered heresy. Nonetheless, I’m saying it – because it needs to be said. For starters, let me say this: “Those of you who are celebrating – could you just pause for a moment and consider: What message are you sending the world?”….
“But celebration in the streets and on the airwaves is neither appropriate nor advisable – really – no matter what your feelings of elation. Here’s why.
“ “Celebrating” the killing of any member of our species – for example, by chanting USA! USA! and singing The Star Spangled Banner outside the White House or jubilantly demonstrating in the streets – is a violation of human dignity. Regardless of the perceived degree of “good” or “evil” in any of us, we are all, each of us, human. To celebrate the killing of a life, any life, is a failure to honour life’s inherent sanctity.
“Plenty of people will argue that Osama Bin Laden did not respect the sanctity of others’ lives. To that I would ask, “What relevance does that have to our own actions?” One aspect of being human is our ability to choose our own behaviour; more specifically, our capacity to return good for evil, love for hate, dignity for indignity. While Osama Bin Laden was widely considered to be the personification of evil, he was nonetheless a human being. A more peaceable response to his killing would be to mourn the many tragedies that led up to his violent death and the thousands of violent deaths that occurred in the attempt to eliminate him from the face of the Earth; and to feel compassion for anyone who, because of their role in the military or government, American or otherwise, has had to play a role in killing another. This kind of compassion can be cultivated, as practitioners of many different spiritual traditions and humanistic philosophies will attest….”
– Pamela Gerloff, “The Psychology of Revenge: Why We Should Stop Celebrating Osama Bin Laden’s Death”, Huffington Post, May 2, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-gerloff/the-psychology-of-revenge_b_856184.html
Today Is Not a Day of Celebration for Me
“…I think about the thousands of lives lost – American, Afghani, Iraqi. I know firsthand the sorrow those families have felt. I ponder how the billions – maybe trillions – of dollars could have been better spent. I remain alarmed about the continued expansion of absolute Executive power in the name of fighting this seemingly ongoing and never-ending “war on terror.” I worry about the further erosion of our constitutional rights. I wonder when our troops will ever be called home. I know all too well, that thousands of young American men and women soldiers will never have the opportunity to return home. And of course, I fear reprisal.
“But more than anything, I cannot seem to remove the optics of the giddy, gleeful throngs of Americans who took to the streets celebrating in the early morning hours….
“Haven’t we learned any lessons in ten years? Paid any attention along the way? Gained any valuable wisdom? Are we really better off?
“Can it ever be a true victory when so many don’t even seem to comprehend the magnitude of what has been lost along the way? Or even what the future might hold?
Was it all worth it?
“As my phone rings and the media looks toward me to give them their trite, warm soundbite of closure and elation, I have to be honest, today is not a day of celebration for me.”
– 9/11 widow and activist Kristen Breitweiser, “Today Is Not a Day of Celebration for Me”, Huffington Post, May 2, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-breitweiser/today-is-not-a-day-of-cel_b_856535.html