IMO: Celebration

IMO stands for In My Opinion, and this begins the IMO series of posts. 

I was walking through my local CVS, waiting for my passport photos to finish printing, when I saw the Time Magazine cover of the month. It was a picture of Osama Bin Laden with a big red cross over his face. I don’t want to particularly upset anyone but I don’t think it’s right to rejoice, and that cover, in my opinion, was distasteful. Then I looked up that picture on Google to perhaps display it here, and then I found similar pictures of Saddam Hussein from 2003 and Adolf Hitler from 1945. 

I stumbled across a blog in my search called Eastcoast Mark and in the post featuring the cover of the Time Magazine, was called “Double Tap To The Head. Boom, Boom.” What I’m trying to say is that it just shocked me. I had never seen something like that, outside of a video game forum.  I thought about Bin Laden’s 23 children. and I tried to think if I were still a child, what this would mean to me. I couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t fathom being able to explain that we as a people were rejoicing in a person’s death. And I know, Bin Laden was a man who hated America and numerous times attacked us, but since he died, what has changed?

Gas prices are still on the rise, and just because he died, it doesn’t mean that his son or anyone else who he was close to isn’t going to do what he did again or worse. What have we gained vengeance, revenge? What Christian person could find that in their hearts when their God says that vengeance is his alone (Romans 12:19)? (I speak to Christians simply because the majority of Americans categorize themselves as Christian.) Are we going to look back on this and be ashamed at how we acted? 

I’m not going to say that I’m not okay with the fact that he isn’t able to terrorize America anymore; that’s not the point of this post. I don’t really know what I want. I think that for the first time, I’m not quite sure what to tell you. 

In my most humble opinion, I believe that the shameless rejoicing of someone’s death is wrong. To quote the doctor: “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.”