Should we celebrate bin Laden’s death?
“I’ve never killed a man, but I’ve read many an obituary with great pleasure.”
?There are a lot of things I want to say about Osama bin Laden — problem is, almost none of them can run in a family newspaper. The above quote (often mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain) seems to sum up what is printable.
The past few days following the late-night announcement by President Obama on Sunday of the death of the terrorist leader have been a whirlwind of as-of-yet-still emerging and often conflicting details — as well as confusing and contradictory emotions.
Like all shared national experiences these days, there is no easier way to tap into the Zeitgeist than to log onto Facebook. There, in status updates and wall posts, you will find the whole range of reaction: glee, bloodlust, concern, relief, patriotism and discontent.
For the sake of simplicity, the general reactions seem to fall into two broad groups: happy and holier-than-thou.
The first group, which I consider myself a member of, isn’t overly concerned with the messy details of what celebrating over someone’s death means or whether or not we look like the hordes who cheered in the streets over 9/11. No, no. It’s all id. Pure and simple.
If there was a banner for this group, it might feature the headline from the satirical newspaper The Onion: “Violent Death Of Human Being Terrific News For Once.”
Let’s face it, Rashard Mendenhall notwithstanding, we all know that bin Laden is a [bad man]. (Editor’s note: Author did not write “bad man.”) We should be happy that he’s gone. Hell, after nearly 10 years, we should be ecstatic.
I’s not everyday that we get to take down a psychic boogeyman on the level of bin Laden. A face and a name that transcends the actual person. He’s no Hitler (thank God) but he’s on that upper pantheon; for a generation or two that bearded visage has been the face of evil. He’s inhuman. So frankly I don’t feel that bad over dancing on his (watery) grave.
So Sunday, between the leaking of the news and the President’s official announcement, I was almost giddy.
(A few of my Facebook statuses from those couple hours: “I know Obama wants to get what he says njustn right, but I think he could just come out and do a fist pump. Problem solved.” and “Who says there’s never anything good on the news?”)
Sure, after observing a 23-minute long period of bipartisan joy, political pundits have already come out to remind us that bin Laden was “mostly a symbolic figurehead” at this point, and did not have direct leadership of al Qaeda. Fine. I’m just happy that figurehead is now mounted on the wall in the Oval Office.
Yes, happy.
But the second group disagrees, as least on issues of style. They take issue to the sheer exuberance, to the dancing in the streets and the joy over death. They want to reign in the happiness to a respectable level. To remind us that one guy’s death doesn’t fix anything.
And you know what? They’re right.
Killing bin Laden doesn’t bring back those he killed. And, no, it doesn’t return the trillions of dollars we’ve spent in Afghanistan and Iraq to the national coffers. And, no, it doesn’t mean we just won the War on Terror; we’re not safe.
And — to give away the origin for my name for this group — no, I don’t imagine that Jesus would be all that happy with us celebrating someone’s death — even if that someone is bin Laden. (Personally, I’m going to take a leap of faith and trust that he’s willing to let this one slide.)
A popular way of expressing allegiance to this second group was a Facebook status with a (made up) quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.” (He never actually said this, apparently; it still went viral.)
Now, that’s not to say that the first group is the correct one simply because I am among them. (But you can draw that conclusion yourself.) People can react to the news as they see fit, and I count among the group I’ve just essentially called wet blankets a good many friends that I respect immensely.
In reality, they’re probably just more sober and reasonable about the whole thing. That’s fine. We need both groups’ reactions.
And whether you’ve taken the news joyfully or somberly, there is a real Martin Luther King, Jr., quote I think we can all get behind: “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
If you’re having trouble being happy about this because Obama is the president who got him, stop. Just stop. Brandon Szuminsky can be reached at bszuminsky@heraldstandard.com.