Friday, May 6, 2011

OH-SAH-MA

So much of the daily buzz has been terse and to the point. Osama is dead. What is really being communicated in that statement? Many things. We now have closure after ten years of loss, a sense of safety is returning to America, revenge is sweet, the subject and object of national anger is now satiated? At some level, each of these statements has validity based on the vantage point of the speaker. From my vantage point, when I heard the news about the successful military operation, my immediate disbelief gave way to an unusual sense of “no-way”.

The more time that has passed, the more my thoughts and feelings have been sifted to to give new eyes for the events of Monday May 1, 2011. Yes, Osama bin Laden is dead and I am sad.

There is sadness at the loss of human life. Regardless the reason, the fact remains that a man is dead. He was a son, a brother and a husband and now there is familial grief and loss for many.


There is sadness at the impact of delusion-ally myopic ideology. The tunnel vision of Osama bin Laden’s extremest values narrowed the path of tolerance to the point of no return. At the proverbial end of the tunnel, was the conclusion that living from one’s belief system meant the slaughter of innocent people and the terrorizing of a nation. That is so wacked!


There is sadness at the presence of evil in the world. The delusion of perfection has long been smashed in my experience. However, the death of Osama brought back to memory the events of 911 and the pressing reality of a present and pervasive evil in the world.


There is sadness to realize we had no alternative. When does diplomacy fail? It fails the moment we realize that we sit at the table of ethics across from a sociopath. Diplomacy fails before we make the choice to remove our tie and cuff links, pick up a bat and beat the brother senseless. Diplomacy fails at the moment we shockingly discover - “There is no other way.”


Osama is dead. But I will not allow my myself the luxury of public exuberance for it is not sober nor appropriate to throw a party after an execution. I honor the memory of the heroes and victims of 911. My heart feels pride and safety because of our military. Mostly, I can’t find my left cuff link.