I doubt that any of us has forgotten where we were on September 11th, 2001. I was working as a telemarketer. Our boss told us to keep making phone calls even after the second plane hit. Maybe I’ll tell more of that story later.
I remember getting home and being glued to the news. I remember seeing footage of Palestinians cheering in the streets. I called my father, himself raised an Arab, very angry and confused. He told me, “Scott, they don’t know any better. They’re not to blame. They’ve only ever been told that the reason their lives are hard and bitter are because of Israel and the United States. They are kept ignorant by their leaders. They are not to blame.” That conversation made all the difference for me and enabled me to love those people even more.
Tonight I turn on the television again. Ten years later. After non-stop debate, discussion, education, and observance of all of the issues surrounding Al Qaeda and the “war on terror.” And now I see Americans cheering in the streets over ever more death.
I forgave and excused the Palestinian people for their ignorance. For what reason should I extend the same understanding to triumphing Americans?
Perhaps you can forgive them for the pain they have felt due to this mad man? I just heard an interview with the mother of a firefighter killed in NYC on 9/11. She said that she thanked God Bin Laden was dead and wanted to sing joyously b/c of it. While I may not agree with her wanting to celebrate another death in this ongoing ordeal, I’m not going to judge her b/c I have no idea the pain, anguish and suffering she’s gone through with losing a child.
No, I’m not going to judge her. But I’m going to judge us. The celebrations in the streets are clear evidence that we have utterly failed as a society to raise ourselves to the higher heights that our education, wealth, and freedom provide for us. We have had ten years in which to observe constant war and atrocity and realize that vengeance cannot be an acceptable goal. And that vengeance is not justice. And we have failed at this. That poor woman who lost her son on 9/11, like all those who lost friends and family, will soon realize that Bin Laden’s death is cold comfort that cannot return their lost one.
We may have done what needed to be done, but it is no cause for celebration.
I do agree that the celebrations in the streets are inappropriate but for different reasons than you. For one, I think it’s pointless b/c his death has marked the end of nothing in the war on terror. I think a friend of yours said on your FB page that this has done nothing but open a new door to terror and he’s right. Secondly, the people out there just look silly and my guess is that most are hypocrites. I’m sure most of them think that it’s barbaric when Muslims are doing cheers in the streets when Americans die. But with all that being said, I will admit that I for one am glad he is dead. Am I out dancing in the streets? No. But he was evil and I am not sorry to see him go. I also say a prayer of thanks for and ask God to bless the men and women of our military–especially the ones who carried out the deed today–b/c I they do a job everyday that I don’t have the guts or will to do. So I guess I can be lumped in with all the others in America that are bringing us down as a society? Don’t get me wrong Scott….I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. You are good and so, so wise and respect your opinion on most everything. But I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one.
Jubilant celebration over anyone’s death is wrong. It is that simple. Wrong. And please dont’ misunderstand. I am all for protecting America….I live here. But, celebration of death is wrong on so many levels. I can’t even put it into words.
I think you might misunderstand me, Allison. I’m not saying that killing Bin Laden was unnecessary or bad. But it can be both necessary and good and still not be a cause for a celebration. In America, we conclude a war and throw a parade. Instead, we should declare a day of mourning. We mourn not because we did the wrong thing, but because the thing itself needed to be done. In this case, killing Bin Laden needed to be done, I’ll concede. But that does not mean that it is a call to triumph and celebration.
And I assure you, I pray for our soldiers as well. My brother-in-law is one of them over there in Afghanistan. But let me push you a bit: what is it that they’re doing that you don’t have the guts to do? And for what reason should God bless them and not the people of Afghanistan and Iraq? Because those people wished us harm? Haven’t we done the same to them? Because those people did bad things – evil things? Don’t we also? So are we talking about degrees of evil being all that separates us who deserve God’s blessing and they who do not? That doesn’t sit well with me. None of us is “good.” But sometimes the war is between the bad and the worse. In which case, I again assert that the victor is not entitled to triumph or celebration.
That we, through our action and inaction, have contributed to creating this world in which evil and war are facts of life is reason enough to cause us to pause before cheering. Doing what needed to be done in order to prevent a slide towards even more evil and chaos is not victory. Inching towards a balance of justice in the world does not call for a parade; it calls for a day of mourning to remember how we have contributed to it being thrown off balance in the first place. And above all it calls for us to move beyond cheering to grieving, beyond victory to healing, and beyond vengeance to forgiveness.
This Allison agrees with you, Scott. I’ll say I was first expecting an announcement of some retaliation for killing Gaddafi’s son, and the Prez informing us that we were all gonna die (yes, so it was a little dramatic. I do that!). When I read the breaking news about Bin Laden I was first relieved, but then I got sick with myself for being relieved that someone had been killed. Was it a someone who did horrible and unspeakable things? Yes, but a someone nevertheless. And it made me sad all over again for the people who lost loved ones, both in 9/11 and battle. It’s SAD. And we as a country ARE educated and we DO know better. How I WISH WISH WISH they could show pictures of Americans of all faiths taking a moment of silence, praying, meditating, etc… on the lives lost over the past 10 years to get to this point. At the same time I feel a huge sense of relief for the families that needed to hear that Bin Laden was dead for their own sense of closure. So where does that leave me? Confused, awake, and sad at 2:20AM. The End!
Okay, yes I do think I originally misunderstood your message about getting rid of Bin Laden and celebration. I agree with you that it is not a cause for a party in the street–for the reasons I mentioned before! I also agree that the world is in a sad state and ALL sides have contributed. There is no doubt. But as I said before, I am glad he is gone b/c he was a monster whose life stood for nothing good or right. His death really isn’t about vengeance for me as I’m sure it is for the families of the victims of 9/11. For me it’s about ridding the world of evil. He was one of the worst so he had to go. And while I don’t agree with those celebrating at the White House the way they are, I can understand their happiness b/c if they feel as I do, today’s deed means there is one less tiny bit of evil in the world. But you are 100% right that this is also a time of mindful reflection.
What is it that the military does that I don’t have the guts or will to do? That would be put my life on the line for my country. That would also be to take other human lives b/c I was ordered to b/c someone told me it was necessary to protect America. To me, that is a level of bravery I will never have and I respect that so much. But I am also not naive enough to believe that “our side” is always noble and just. I certainly know there are those in our military and government who take advantage of their positions and power through manipulation and domination. This is obviously not right and I obviously don’t support those actions and would speak out against them. But I don’t think this means I should refuse to ask God to bless and protect our servicemen and women as a whole just b/c some don’t do the right thing. Which brings me to the blessing of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan….now here’s where I may be a bit naive. I have to believe that there are people in those countries who are just like me. Perhaps they don’t worship as I do, but they are just people with families that they love more than they love themselves, who work to support those families, who don’t get caught up in all this religious strife. They believe that we are all human beings and that we should respect life regardless of race, creed, religion, etc. Those people I DO pray for b/c I hope that if they are out there, maybe they can help make a difference in their countries so that all this religious extremism will stop. Again, maybe that’s a naive notion since I’ve never lived over there and can’t attest to the general mindset of the people. But you know all we hear about in the media are the extremists that hate Americans. I have to believe that not EVERYONE over there feels that way. I have to believe that there are those people that want harmony, too, so that we can all live happy, peaceful lives.
Now, I have to admit that I do not pray for blessings on those that wish us harm. I know that I should b/c that’s the Christian thing to do but I am far from a perfect Christian. I pray for their defeat. And as far as us doing anything evil to those over there, that brings me back to what I said before about knowing that our country has done bad things, too. Of course I don’t support that and would never pray to God to allow those things to happen just b/c we’re Americans and we’re Christians and I think we’re right. But I do pray for the defeat of those that want to harm us and if our military is the tool to do that, than I absolutely pray for them and for blessings on them.
I know I’m being argumentative here, but please know that all of your points are not falling on deaf ears. They are all things I have thought about and considered many times before in my own quiet reflection on all this. But there are other times when we are debating something and you bring up a point that I had never considered before and it always enlightens me. I appreciate you always taking the time to have dialog with me b/c I always come away from our discussions having learned something new.
When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. — Proverbs 11:10
ugh, typed that so fast I made a typo with my own last name. D’oh
I could nitpick and say that the Hebrew word in the Proverbs reference is actually only translatable as “shouts” and that appending “of gladness” is an interpretive choice, but I think it’s easier to just say:
Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice. – Proverbs 24:17
So do we trade Proverbs, or do we look to the ultimate interpretive lens for the Christian: the life and words of Christ? I would love for someone to try to use the life and words of Christ to defend cheering the death of a man or killing him at all.