The US Army killed Osama Bin Laden.
If you haven't heard this news, you've clearly been living in a cave (pun very intended). I feel compelled to write about this historical moment because of the moral and ethical questions it has brought up for me in the past few days, particularly in light of the fact that I soon will be a parent, attempting to instill our child with a sense of "values." But what are those values we want to instill? And how does this historical moment challenge the value system we think we know and abide by?
Just so you know, here's where I'm coming from: while I don't subscribe to any particular religious system of belief, I certainly do subscribe to the idea of karma in a grand sense. What you give out to the universe you receive in return. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (but not necessarily literally). Thus, do unto others as you would do unto yourself. In one respect, Osama got precisely what he karmically deserved. Which is perhaps why, when I heard the news, I didn't feel particularly bad.
Yet neither did I feel particularly good, either. Why not capture him and try him in court for his crimes? Could justice have been served in any other ways? Now it's a moot point, but I wondered...
And then I felt downright awful and disturbed when the "dancing in the streets" started and celebrations sprang up, both in the flesh and on Facebook. What makes our celebrations of his death any better than the extremists' celebrations of 9/11? Without question the damage to our world that Osama has generated is morally reprehensible and inexcusable, but aren't we sliding down one awfully slippery slope by rejoicing in his murder? Or are our value systems that flexible enough to accommodate such picking and choosing of "sin" and negative actions?
There are no easy answers to these questions. I posted on Facebook the ubiquitous Martin Luther King, Jr. quote that's floating around out there:
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" Martin Luther King, Jr
While this is a bastardization of what he says in his sermon, "Loving Your Enemy," I like the sentiment nonetheless. After I posted on someone else's status update--who had also posted the same quote--to "Spread the Love," the wrath came upon me. Things like, "Love didn't save that nut" and "Love doesn't apply to terrorists." Once again, I beg the same question I posed earlier but in a different light: are our value systems that flexible enough to accommodate such picking and choosing of "love" and positive actions?
So at this historical moment of significant value, I ponder how history has shaped values throughout time. And I wonder how--as time continues, as I grow, as my children grow--historical progress will continue to shape, mold, and challenge my own values. Despite all this, I'm still not sure what to make of all this, nor has it brought me any closer to determining the values I do want to pass on.
But I'll end with this anecdote: A former professor's daughter posed the following question to her over breakfast yesterday morning: Was Osama Bin Laden as evil as Voldemort? That's a loaded question, and I'm breathing a small sigh of relief that I'm not a parent yet because the answer--like so many answers about this subject--are far too complex to answer with a simple yes or no.
No comments:
Post a Comment