Osama's Death Should Not Be Celebrated

In my previous entries, I've been clear that in my opinion, Americans should not celebrate the death of Osama Bin Laden. Hours after the news came out, as it turned out, I was not alone in my opinion. Columnists, a few political pundits, and even the Vatican all spoke against the initial reactions some Americans (or at least those who showed up in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. and Ground Zero in NYC) showed during the immediate aftermath of the big announcement. 

I singled out a banner prominently displayed by one reveler in NYC, which read "Obama=1 Osama=0" because of its taunting and provoking tone (or perhaps intent).  And now here comes another shameful play on the news of Osama's death under the hands of US Navy Seals that callously insinuates sex after an enemy's death is highly gratifying. I can't even imagine how this team of yellow paper journalists put sex and the news of Osama's death together. Add to that, why ask your readers about what they think. But of course, it's TMZ.      

Not a cause for celebration indeed. In Pamela Gerloff's article on Huffington Post today, she writes that people should have the decency to caution themselves against any celebration of sorts. Osama may be the biggest threat to Americans when he was still alive and now that he's dead, it doesn't mean that his death should not be afforded at least a little decency or even modesty. Real victors celebrate with humility and complete respect for their defeated enemy. In this case, we may have slain the beast but the poison remains and it would linger far longer than most Americans have estimated.

As I've said, more people are saying that although it's Osama, world's public enemy No. 1 and most wanted, it's not a cause for public display of celebration like it's a major win in the World Series or the Stanley Cup or the Olympics. Caution and decency are the things we should consider.

Here are the other pundits, intellectuals, and writers that speak and feel the same about how wrong it is for us to celebrate boldly Osama's death: Dr. David P. Gushee (Professor of Christian Ethics) ; the celebrity and well-respected Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Rabbi and writer) ; Jim WallisChristian leader for social change ; and finally, Rev. James Martin, S.J.Catholic priest and author, 'The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everyt.   

  

Manic Monday Round-up

Last weekend, President Obama hosted the White House Correspondents Dinner with Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyer as the comedic “roaster”. Although, it wasn’t as funny as the previous years (Colbert is still the funniest!), a lot of surprisingly audacious media-whores attended the event like Donald Trump and Michelle Bachman.

So, here’s the classic spoof video primer, The President's Speech:

And to give warmth to this otherwise damp and sullen spring Monday, watch this trailer of the new Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess movie, "One Day":

If I were you, READ the book first. I don't know but it seems like I almost always enjoy a movie based on a book if I've read the book first. And I think, it really is more classy and snobbish at best. Buy the book:
      

One's Freedom Fighter is Another Man's Terrorist

Watching President Obama announce the death of Osama Bin Laden was a riveting moment. Finally, they got him. And now, he's dead.



What affected me more were the instantaneous reactions and eruptions of emotions and jubilation as shown on CNN. People gathered in front of the White House screaming, chanting, and celebrating the death of the world's most wanted man. Mostly young people, they kept chanting "USA! USA! USA!" and then loud and disruptive vuvuzelas blared somewhere in the crowd, another group kept on singing the "Star Spangled Banner" filled with emotions and with great intensity.

In New York, people gathered in front of the large LCD screens around Times Square watching news updates while a bigger crowd converged near Ground Zero lit candles and carried banners and posters saying "Obama=1 Osama=0". People waved American flags of different sizes.

They must be happy. This is truly a shinning moment for the Obama Administration and the US Military. This is the pinnacle of the fight against terrorism. This is justice to all the innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon. This is...



At this point, I am no longer sure of what to feel and how to react. Then I asked myself, "Are they doing the right thing?" I don't know. These people who went to the streets are only acting on their emotions. They must know someone in the military who served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Maybe they know someone who perished or survived the World Trade Center attacks. Again, I don't know.

What I know for sure is: a more sombre and sober reaction is needed. I got scared when I saw the man holding a poster with "Obama=1 Osama=0" because with those words, we are courting retaliation. With those words, we are taunting terrorists and maybe provoking them. In the weirdest and darkest way, we are saying "We got you this time!" Take note of the "This time!" because it speaks of a vicious and unbreakable cycle of evil, violence perpetrated in the name of religion and misinformation.

Sadly, this is not the end. Osama will be replaced by another one. In the coming days, all citizens of the "Free World" must contemplate how Osama's death will shape the future of their communities, of their respective countries, and of their own individual views and perspectives.

So, what is really the impact of Osama's death to our society? The end of the eleven-year hunt. Is this pure sweet vengeance or vindication? Or, maybe this is an end to the obsession and frustration stretched through years and years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Of course, rapturous public displays like this also happen in the war torn and ravaged parts of the Islamic world where American flags are burned and stomped at, where effigies of Bush or Obama are burned to ashes, and where threats of destruction or inflamed chants invoking (and even justifying) jihad mainly against the US and its allies are done.

I am happy Osama is finally dead. President Obama said, "Justice has been done." World leaders hailed the successful US military and Pakistani government operation. Bush congratulated Obama.

Thank you to the courageous men and women in the service who participated in the operation.

But we, as people of the "Free World," must remind ourselves that one's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. The fight lives on.