Last night was strange in a variety of ways. Firstly, B and I were completely exhausted - Friday and Saturday nights were late nights (in bed no earlier than midnight) and we were certainly feeling the brunt of the ensuing exhaustion. I was also coming down with something resembling a cold (dangit!) for the second time in three months - I am still on the couch and not 100% as of today. We were supposed to attend a cookout, to meet the university students with whom I will work closely next year in my new position; however, after attending an evening Mass and not feeling any better (if not worse), we elected to go home, order a pizza, and rent a movie (which happened to be The King's Speech!).
About three-quarters of the way through the movie (His Majesty King George VI and Lionel Logue were about to rehearse for the coronation in Westminster Abbey), I, without any particular reason, decided to log onto Facebook. It was there on the social networking site that I saw a flurry of status updates about someone not often thought about in my mind these days. These statuses were reporting a massively historical bit of news:
The United States had eliminated Osama bin Laden.
Immediately I relayed the news to B - who, understandably, was shocked. After all, it isn't every day that the major news networks are reporting that the United States has eliminated the most wanted terrorist in the world. We fumbled around with our remote controls (we have way too many!) and finally was able to reach a news station to see what exactly was going on. The coverage confirmed the flurry of Facebook statuses - the United States had raided the world's most wanted terrorist's luxury compound in a city north of the Pakistani capital city, and in a firefight, the man wanted for orchestrating the 9/11 attacks had been killed.
I didn't know what to think. At first, deep down, there was almost an excitement to the news, similar to when the United States had captured Saddam Hussein many years ago, thoughts of "we finally got him" and "it's about time" that swirled in my mind. Then, as we started to digest and process the news, calling our parents to make sure they had heard, I found myself trying to pray for the repose of his soul. I remember a particular moment of solitude before the President's address to the nation where I finally realized that bin Laden, like all of us someday, came face-to-face with God, the Just Judge, and needed to answer for the doings of his life. And in that moment, I feared for his soul and tried, albeit poorly, to ask God's mercy through a series of silent Hail Mary's.
Let me tell you - it was difficult. The memories of September 11th remain palpable to me - I recall watching the news footage of the anniversary of the attacks last fall and my heart still aching for those who perished in a fiery grave on that clear September day. I remember sobbing into my mother's shoulder the night after the attacks, as the news coverage continued incessantly and as lower Manhattan continued to smolder. I remember writing busily in my journal in the following days, and I know that in my fifteen-year-old immaturity, I had a few choice words for Osama bin Laden as I tried to process my thoughts. So, last night, to attempt to pray and ask God's mercy on this man was a difficult task.
And then I watched the ensuing celebrations around the United States - places like the White House, Ground Zero, and Times Square, where hundreds gathered to celebrate the death of this man. And I know that my fifteen-year-old self from September of 2001 would have joined in the revelry and celebrated robustly what the media and politicians have dubbed "a decisive victory in the War on Terror." To be honest, as I watched the celebrations ensue, my stomach was uneasy. It is one thing to celebrate patriotism and be proud of our America, it is quite another to celebrate that patriotism in the wake of a man's death. I agree wholeheartedly that Osama bin Laden has caused devastating agony to the citizens of the United States. The actions of al-Qaeda and its influence on America will be written about for ages to come. Yet, as Americans, we should not be treating this moment in history as if we won the big game. Our lack of decorum in recognizing bin Laden's death was difficult for me to watch - and B and I agreed that the footage of the celebrations could ultimately be damaging for the United States in the wider Arab world community. Indeed, this is a defining moment in American history - but to rejoice in this man's death is not, in my humble estimation, the way to go about these things.
This is truly one of those moments where the teachings of our Lord are so very difficult. Jesus knew what he was saying when he instructed the disciples (and us) to "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." It is something that I - and the rest of the United States - very much need to take to heart.
a presto
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