a muse about the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden
by Prissy Hamilton
I've been watching the news about Osama bin Laden, now for several hours. From the first 5 minutes I felt uncomfortable about it, something was wrong.
My impression as the news media went on talking about joy, jubilation and closure, it does not feel right, does not feel balanced to me. Yes, the man that popular opinion says was responsible for thousands of deaths is dead himself now. Is it about revenge or is it about retaliation or is it the false impression that the terror mongers will now be ceased?
I'm unsure how many people realize that when Russia was fighting in that area, Osama bin Ladin was instrumental in helping or aiding Russia and the United States. He was on our side. It was brought out in the Iran Contra Arms exposure that he was involved and in a way that had 'helped' us. It was also stated that when Russia and United States didn't need him any longer, we walked away from him leaving him 'twisting' in the wind. At that time he vowed to 'get us' and on 9/11 the twin towers fell and, apparently Osama bin Laden took credit for it.
Still, there is something very wrong with a nation that parties due to someone's death - no matter who that person was or what he had done. It produces no closure. It doesn't bring back the loved ones that died, it doesn't soothe the soul, it has no glorious value, and is not healing at all on any level. Retaliation, revenge is never the right answer. It breeds more retaliation and revenge. That is the nature of it.
So with all that in mind, one has to ask the question. 'What's next?' After the short lived joy has been expressed, after the news media lets go of it and moves on to something else, what happens emotionally to those that were caught up in the gala? What happens to the people that lost loved ones through all the attacks and horror. Are they healed, are they less sad about their loss, do they feel vindicated, does it make everything all right again?
Osama used his religion as an excuse for his violence. He also said he wanted us out of his country. Our excuse from what we were told was that he hated freedom, that he was responsible for the killing of thousands of our people. Who is right and who is wrong? If you look at it from a broader view, both are right. Both, in their own eyes, feel justified and correct. Each side thinks the other is evil, but are they? Seems to me, evil, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
OK, Osama bin Laden is dead. Does that mean that terror will end? I think not and anyone who thinks otherwise is very naive and coming from a place of anger and hate, not from a place of truly wanting to stop that terror and violence. It is a vicious circle when it is dealt with in that way.
There is a third way. People don't seem to ponder that very much and it isn't talked about or discussed. If we truly want to stop the hate, the violence, what can we do to really, if not stop it all together, at least to curb it and make it unacceptable to all?
The taking of a life, any life is uncomfortable to me emotionally. It just is. I'm not a pacifist by any stretch of the imagination. If someone attacked me, at that moment of attack I would pull up every ounce of fight I had available to me. That is called defense. That is the lion wanting me for lunch and all my instincts would be on high alert in the defense of my life. That is much different from hunting someone down in revenge or retaliation. That is turning into the lion yourself. There is another way, let's start talking about that!
4 comments:
Yes, Prissy, I, too, was somewhat taken aback by the howls of jubilation and partying outside the White House that greeted the news of bin Laden's demise. I thought the event required a moment (or two) of somber reflection - not drunken revelry. It didn't seem right.
Here's a link to a piece I wrote at the time:
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com/2011/05/reflecting-on-september-11.html
Tom Degan
Once again, we are on the same page. I was disgusted and sickened by the reaction of most Americans upon the death of Osama bin Laden. I won't get into how I feel about 9/11, as I could write a book on the subject and I guarantee it would not be very popular. However, celebrating the death of anyone is pathetic and cruel,...it goes against all that is spiritual and compassionate, all that is human. Yet, humans are proving to be a very unsavory lot as of late....especially Christians. As Gandhi once said, "I like your Jesus, but I do not like your Christians." These are indeed dark times we are witnessing. It hurts my heart to see so much hate, bigotry and just plain not caring about anyone but oneself. I feel this darkness is going to be with us for quite a while. All we can do is to keep our tiny candles lit until the Light returns, and it will....more brilliantly than ever. Thank you for sharing what is in your golden heart, Prissy. Namaste.
Anything other than love is never justifiable. Any response other than love places us outside who we really are. Inevitably, we all have to return to love because only love is real, and it is the energy of our returning home.
Hi, Prissy.
I just discovered your blog because of Shari Collins common FB friendship.
I didn't blog about it directly; but I wrote about it on FB or in emails to friends.
I claim to try to follow the way of Jesus and am an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church (which, after retirement,I have dropped out and going elsewhere for community).
Our country has been at war for virtually its entire existence. The genocide we of European base brought upon the natives still amazes me.
So, while I admit to preferring no one would just kill a bunch of people for any reason, that we kill without trial, when I don't believe we should kill even the guilty makes me more than uncomfortable.
And, yes, I got sort of sick at my stomach at the visceral response I saw and to some extent felt at that moment in time.
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