"Osama bin Laden has been killed by the US Military. There are a lot of people across the US, and the world, that are going to be celebrating his death in the name of justice. It's their right to do so, because he was the leader of the group of people who caused the deaths of thousands on 9/11. But I'm not happy he's dead. I am happy his influence is no longer active, and I'm happy his agenda is no longer operative, but I don't want to be happy that a man is dead. I don't want to celebrate and cheer and wave flags in the name of patriotism. Because that is what his group did when the towers fell, when the Pentagon was on fire, when the plane went down in Pennsylvania. They cheered for the thousands who died. And cheering for his death makes us no better than him. So remember that, when you discuss it at school today, or when your friends talk about it. You don't have to be happy someone dies to feel the kind of justice people are talking about."
I didn't expect to feel this way. Ten years ago, I was a bloodthirsty American, hoping for his quick and imminent end. Today, I'm just sad. I don't want to raise my children to believe that someone's death is a cause for celebration, no matter whose death it is. I'm just starting to realize how precious life is. Teaching them to cheer for death seems counterproductive.
They weren't old enough to know what was going on ten years ago in September. They were babies--nine months old--and too young to comprehend the magnitude of devastation dealt to Americans in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. They don't remember, but I do. I went there, to help, to volunteer, to give blood. The footage we saw of the towers falling cannot compare to the aftermath in the weeks that followed. And I'm glad this might bring a bit of closure to the people who suffered loss and pain at the hands of Osama bin Laden, but I just can't find it in me to celebrate his death.
I used to have a bumper sticker that said something like: Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong? That sums up my point. This kind of "logic" is passed down to children, and the sentiment behind it is perpetuated over and over again. It's the breeding grounds of thought for kids who bring guns to school, or road rage, or hate crimes. And I love my kids too much to leave them a legacy of revenge.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind - Mahatma Gandhi
