Yesterday, as I sat down on the couch to watch one of my "shows", the abc network logo appeared on the screen and interrupted the 2-hour season finale. My first thought? What the ____??? Right in the middle of my show? C'mon - the one time I can sit down and watch TV?!? Then a split second later my heart dropped, heavy with dread. The dread that can only come from hearing a voice come over the air saying "We interrupt your regularly scheduled programing to bring you this special report"...which of course is always followed by dramatic music only used when an urgent message is about to be conveyed. I never used to give these special reports a second thought... until the 9/11 attacks happened.
Emotions and memories of that day still play on my feelings of dread. Trace, cutting his morning classes short, came storming in the door of our tiny-this is all we can afford-government-subsidized apartment and told me to turn on the TV. We watched in horror as we saw the events of tragedy unfold. Life changed in an instant. Lives were taken away and a nation's idea of being invincible was shattered. The word "terrorist" took on a whole new meaning that literally hit right at home. Our nation was attacked by an enemy that could not be defined within the realms of a single country. It was a new kind of war, which at that time, could not be defined.
As I found myself sitting in front of the TV, not quite 10 years later, with that same feeling of dread...I couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear followed by the mental question of what now? We all know our nation is changing. The world climate is, for the lack of a better word, unstable. We haven't been immune to the current state of the economy. Then there seems to be an onslaught of significant natural disasters that are effecting millions of people. So what is it now? Another tsunami? A nuclear meltdown? A devastating earthquake? How many people are going to suffer? A bomb? A mass shooting? My only conundrum of what now was trying to differentiate whether the to-be-annoucned disaster was going to be man-made or something bigger than us all.
Then it was announced:
Osama Bin Laden is dead.
It took a moment to sink in. I simply could not believe it. I wanted it to be verified by more than just a "reliable" source, so I flipped through the very limited list of channels we get via antennae on TV. Everyone was broadcasting the same thing. The president would be soon be addressing the nation. This was the real deal. Clips of Bin Laden and his reign of terror were shown. Time lines were discussed. All I could think was...finally. We finally got him. Justice has been served. There was no cheering, no jumping for joy. My thoughts turned to the lives affected, be it directly from the 9/11 attacks or the war on terror that has followed.
I logged onto facebook and it was lit-up with status updates regarding the death of this horrible man. I turned my attention back to the TV. The newscasters were patiently waiting for President Obama to speak - as his time to do so had been delayed several times. Then clips of video were being shown in real time. People at the White House. People at ground zero. Cheering. Cheering for the country. Cheering for, among other things, justice and victory.
But I have to admit - I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I looked around at the faces of those cheering in the crowds. The majority of these cheering people were young. College age. And I couldn't put my finger on it, but this cheering business just didn't feel right. I couldn't understand what warranted the breaking out in song and dance in the streets. How is this honoring those lives lost? How is this honoring the men and women that have put their lives on the line to fight this man, his group and it's ideals? How can having hatred of an evil man bring about joyous shouts and celebration? Isn't that what Osama's followers did when he claimed a victory on the evil empire of America? Didn't they cheer in the streets? Now, I know it's not the same, because what he did was wrong. And what we did was bring an end to what he began. But having hatred? Even though it can be easily justified, can cheering for the demise of an evil leader who was responsible for thousands of deaths, be okay if it is fueled by hatred? Is it the right thing to do?
MLK said:
"But there is another side which we must never overlook. Hate is just as injurious to the person who hates. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
...We never get rid of an enemy by meeting hate with hate; we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up. Love transforms with redemptive power.
Is there enough love to solve this war on terror? In this life? I doubt it. I know it's more complicated than any one person could ever define. I know with Osama's demise, closure has been brought to many families. A chapter has been closed in what is now a much bigger book. I also know it isn't over. But there should be enough love and light to do the right thing, at least on the home front. Instead of allowing hatred to fuel cheers on the account of death, we should focus our energy on being grateful. We should express feelings of gratitude to those responsible for carrying out justice, for those who have accomplished their missions - or have died while valiantly trying to do so. We need to be part of the solution. How would I convey my gratitude? I would shake a service members hand, look him/her in the eye, and say Thank You. Thank you for your service, for your sacrifice, and for ensuring the continued freedoms that we take for granted - including the right to speak our opinions on such, and to do so freely.
Our soldiers do their part everyday. Now we need to do ours.
