A little over 24 hours ago, my roommate and I heard a "WOOO!" from friend who was watching tv downstairs. "Oh, he's probably watching the game," I said. Then I heard him yell, "We got Osama bin Laden!"
And so began a media frenzy that is still going strong . My Facebook newsfeed was clogged with praise for the military and celebrating bin Laden's death, and the news showed footage of masses of people in the streets and in front of the White House chanting, "USA! USA!"
I feel somewhat unpatriotic writing this, but I have mixed feelings on reactions I've seen. First of all...we're celebrating the fact that a person has died. One newspaper headline read, "ROT IN HELL." I fully understand that he was the leader of al Queda, the mastermind behind September 11th and other terrorist attacks, and symbol of hatred of America. But the crowds of people chanting in the streets reminded me of how some in the Middle East reacted to the news that thousands of Americans had been killed on 9/11. (I realize this isn't a perfect analogy by any means...the death of one man is no where NEAR on par with the mass murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.) Is celebrating death, of any sort, who we are as a country? A nation largely made up of Christians, no less?
Since others can say it much more eloquently than I, here are some quotes I thought expressed what I'm thinking well:
Statement from the Vatican this morning:
"Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end,” said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, who released a brief written statement reacting to the news.
“In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred."
Statement from Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA):
"The death of Osama bin Laden is an occasion for solemn remembrance. We remember the lives of all whose deaths resulted from his choosing hatred and violence. We stand with those who continue to mourn the death of loved ones while giving thanks for their lives, their love and their faith. We also continue to hold in prayer all whose service in the military, in government and in humanitarian and peacemaking activities contribute to a safer and more prosperous world."
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but 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.
On another note, on CNN they showed an old video of the first plane flying through the first tower flashed across the screen, juxtaposed to Osama's face while the newscaster said, "The man who did this is dead." Well...not exactly. I think it's dangerous to give any one person so much power and credit - it distracts from others who were also involved and still actively plotting attacks. Killing him does nothing to stop the War on Terror, and anyone who thinks so is naive. However, I do think destroying a symbol such as bin Laden is a powerful thing - particularly to the families of those who lost someone on 9/11. I'm very curious what their reactions were to the news. Relief, closure?
Also - why exactly is everyone giving Obama so much credit for this? I don't get it...
Okay, it's late and in my new effort to become a morning person, I'm ending this here...more later.
nice post/blog jessica, i concur! seems like perfect timing to pull a "victory card" out of team obama's back pocket... during a time of where the president and his staff were/are under some serious heat and record low approval ratings. This in turn gives them a chance to make everyone who questions the government on this or any other issue for that matter un-American, pretty ridiculous. people with common sense and any sense of respect for life should conduct themselves in a profession level headed "christian" manner in response to the early stages of this news. the response of the american public as a whole seems came across as pretty ignorant and rather disappointing as a whole. i guess osama really did have like 9 lives seeing as this was something like the ninth time the media/government claimed he was killed. i personally would have liked to see him captured alive so we might have a chance to get some of the many questions surrounding 9/11 answered. but of course he was conveniently silenced and swiftly put to rest... its all very interesting
ReplyDeletenice vatican quotes by the way :)
Thank you! And thanks for the response. I think the W for Obama will be short-lived...our attention spans are incredibly fleeting. I agree that criticizing others' reactions, or the fact that he was shot rather than captured is seen as unpatriotic, un-American, not supporting our troops, etc., and that's a shame. Rather than thinking objectively, suddenly we need to be PC and support our gov't no matter what? It'll be interesting as more details come out on why exactly he was shot, rather than taken prisoner...that would have been my preference. But what's done is done. The White House needs get their shit together in terms of consistent facts though, that's for sure. A lot of mixed stories right now.
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