An Eye for an Eye

An eye for an eye for an eye for an eye...... leaves everybody blind.

Last night, President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11th terrorist attacks, had been located and killed.  What a surreal experience it was to watch the President's speech, almost 10 years after that devastating day in our country's history!  Certainly, our country and the rest of the world are safer today.  For that, I am grateful.  I am grateful for the small group of Navy seals who risked their lives yesterday so that mine would be protected.

However, after watching the celebrations in front of the White House and across the country last night, and after reading countless social media posts of celebration, I am torn.  I am indeed grateful, but I don't feel like jumping for joy.  I mourn for those we have lost as a result of this man's horrific actions, but yet I don't join in their celebration of his death. 

Let me be clear: I am not judging those who do celebrate, as it is their prerogative to do so.  And I am not posting this to instigate arguments or to begin a debate.  If you feel joy upon hearing this news, or if you took to the streets last night to celebrate, I am not saying you should not feel that way or should not celebrate.  Each person reacts to something like this out of the context of their own circumstances.  I can't say that I wouldn't feel differently than I do today if it had been my child who went down in the World Trade Center or if it had been my husband who was killed by Al Qaeda while fighting in Afghanistan.  I am simply expressing my own reaction to this news as I sit in my little corner of the world today. 

A friend's facebook status this morning included these two verses of scripture:

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls...."  Proverbs 24:17

"I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live."  Ezekiel 33:11

I admit that I have not deeply studied the passages from which those verses come (as my husband would urge), so I am not certain if I am taking them out of context.  But, they seem to illustrate my heart, which is reluctant to celebrate today.  

So, while I am not inclined to rejoice in Osama bin Laden's death, I do honor the memory of those who have perished as a result of his hate-filled ideas, both on American soil and abroad.  And I give thanks for a military who risks everything to make my home, and the future for my child, a safer place.


"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.