So, for the past hour or so I've been trying to process how I feel about the death of Osama Bin Laden. Actually, this is something I've thought about multiple times over the years, how I would feel if he were put to death. I've found myself conflicted as two of my most fundamental values come into direct conflict with one another.
On the one hand, I abhor evil and I detest the demeaning of human beings no matter what walk of life they come from. I wish i could say that I feel Americans over the last ten years have acted with dignity where aspects of 9/11 have been concerned, but I can't. I have watched people turn against Islam and the Muslim people for no other reason than simply because people who warped that religion did something horrible. Islam and the people who practice it have never deserved the wrath of the American people's rejection and hate.
My Christian roots of faith after all have not always had a glistening history of pure and noble action. During the middle ages, Christian crusades were responsible for just as much bloodshed and inhumane treatment as people believe Islam to be because of radical parts of the religion. As I'm sure most people do not allow the history of Christianity to define their opinion of it today, I would expect most decent people to approach Islam with the same openness and dignity.
My own efforts within the gay community alone have shown both the darker and brighter side of Christianity. Every religion has an equal portion of both and the minute we allow the darker sides of a religion to shape and define our opinion of the general population within that religion, we become no better than the darker aspects of any religion that serve only a purpose of strife and division among humanity as a whole.
From a spiritual standpoint, I cannot join with the people who are celebrating in the streets openly, the death of another human being, no matter how evil he may have been. How many radical extremists within the terrorist camps of the world cheered over the death of 3,000 American lives on September 11th? I say to you all that by dancing in the streets over the death of Bin Laden we show ourselves no more enlightened than they. Indeed, I have seen facebook posts and my other social networking sites treating the extinguishing of this human being's life with as little dignity as the people we claim to be against have shown to the death of other human beings.
On the other hand, my human nature and patriotism to my country are also pulling at me to feel satisfied that the mastermind behind so much death has finally been silenced. This part of me though cannot even win out in a battle of personal struggle for me because his death certainly does not mark an end to terrorism and my level of patriotism in the current landscape of America gives me pause when it comes to feeling we have dealt terror a crippling blow.
The United States is an amazing place to call home but we are far from perfect and full of our own problems where terrorism is concerned. People forget that within our borders, the young people of our country are killing themselves because of social and religious rejection. This too, is a type of terrorism and perhaps it is a more dangerous kind of terrorism because it is home grown and seeded by people within.
Celebrating the death of a tyrant does not undo what that person did with his life and in all probability, has created a martyr for those who followed him to rally under. I do not understand the idea of "closure" being obtained from this either because his death does not cure the problem and nor has the death of those like him in the past cured the problem. Until we all agree as a race of people that there is no longer any room for hatred or evil within our society, we will be stuck in the same rut we have been stuck in for centuries.
This does not mean going on a crusade of our own against those who plot and carry out acts of evil, it means changing attitudes in the world and coming together as a race of people instead of being divided by those things which cause evil to spawn in the first place. Countries across the middle east are demanding more freedoms from their governments and leaders. They want these people out of office but only in certain cases do they wish these people dead.
Coming together for the cause of change is by far more productive than killing off the evil people of the world because until we fix that one fundamental problem in our society, there are always going to be more evil people to take their place. Until we decide as a race of human beings that there is more to existence than battling over barriers, we shall continue to forcefully destroy them and rebuild them over and over again.
I preached a sermon once that was received with mixed opinion, where I openly challenged people to forgive the pilots who crashed those planes on 9/11. You see, until we understand the fundamental value of unconditional love and forgiveness ESPECIALLY in the face of complete rejection of both by others, we miss the point altogether. Until we realize that our great diversity is what in the end shall conquer over our world's adversity, we are going to be doomed to repeat the same senseless tragedies over and over again.
So, do I believe that people like Bin Laden shouldn't ultimately be put to death? I cannot answer that question one way or another but I do believe that in some ways it is presumptuous of us to feel we have the right to make that decision about human life because whatever people may choose to do with it, human life is one of the most amazing things in creation. Yes, bin Laden seems to have missed that point himself by openly killing thousands over the years but have we also not missed the point as well by allowing our pursuit of justice to end a life? Do we honestly have the right to decide who lives and who dies, no matter the extent of their crimes? Again, I do not know.
I can only hope that whatever judgment awaits mankind down the road, is fair. I also know that while all things related to situations like this are complicated, that I believe for the most part, we do the best we can even if we fall short sometimes in practicing humane humanity, no matter what side of that line we are on.
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