The headlines screamed: "ROT IN HELL!", "WE GOT THE BASTARD!", and "Vengeance at Last". Osama bin Laden had been killed by US special forces... and there was much rejoicing.
It's been almost 10 years since my then 6-year-old daughter called me on the phone crying and said, "Daddy! The Tower Twins fell!" She felt the pain a little more than most Americans because she had been to the "Tower Twins" in person, and had friends that lived in New York. Of course her pain was nothing like that of the children who had lost their parents in that horrible attack, but still there were many tough questions and conversations in the following years that were prompted by that singular event.
Why did they do that? Why are they happy that people died? What is "right?" What is "wrong?" Why are some people mean? Why do some people hate?
I was grateful that I was with my daughter when we walked into a convenience store and saw the headlines of Osama's demise. Those headlines, which glorified and legitimized killing, were going to require us to retread the same ground we had years ago; but this time the questions and answers would be much more complicated. Why are the newspapers mean? Why are Americans celebrating killing? Why do my friends hate?
It's one thing to address those issues when speaking in generalities, or about people who live far away and that you do not know personally. But when it comes to people who you know and trust and love, the answers become remarkably elusive - and downright painful.
Osama was a monster, of that there is no doubt. But should we have killed him? A reasonable argument could be made that killing him WAS justified. I personally disagree because I believe that killing is wrong except in self defense, and I don't believe this was self defense, especially since bin Laden was unarmed and there were 79 commandos. There are some that use a broader definition of self defense, saying that we are safer with Osama dead. It's the same definition of self defense that is used to justify the death penalty, which I don't buy; and I find it hypocritical that some who oppose government execution for domestic criminals, are OK with government execution in this case.
For argument's sake, I'll accept (for a couple of minutes) that killing him was justified and that we are safer. There are many other questions that are begging for answers. Does our government have the authority to invade a country we have not declared war on? Does our government have the authority to assassinate? If we are justified in killing Osama, who else are we justified in killing? Muammar Gaddafi? Syrian President Bashar Assad? Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh? Kim Jong-il? Julian Assange? These are, after all, enemies of the state. Is it such a stretch?
Barely making a peep on the news this week was the fact that on Saturday, NATO made its second assassination attempt in as many months on Libya's Muammar Gadaffi, this time using US Predator Drones. Gadaffi escaped, but his son and three grandchildren (all under 12) were killed. Is this justified? Is this just "collateral damage?" Personally, I find it sickening, and it goes to the heart of the most pervasive question that I will be addressing with my daughter for years to come. Has America lost its sense of decency? I don't pretend to have an answer.
As disturbing as it is that our government is killing innocent children, it's just as disturbing to see people rejoicing in the streets at the killing of Osama bin Laden, no matter how evil the bastard is. Even worse are those that gloat over some perceived political victory, because it was Barack Obama that "got him" and not George Bush. I expect this from polititians, but some of the very people who I consider to be the most compassionate, the most peace-loving, and the most humane, are the ones who are rejoicing and gloating the most. It's pathetic and it's shameful.
I don't know how to begin to explain this to my daughter. We will need to figure it out together, and it won't be easy.
Tomorrow President Obama will visit Ground Zero to take his victory lap, which I honestly don't begrudge him. He will do it with his usual grace, while war profiteers count their cash, and mother and fathers count their casualties.
