Last night at about 11pm EST I got the news. We came in from our Beltane celebration (a pagan festival of prosperity and fire, details of which are information for a different blog entry) and rushed to turn on the news. Then, honestly, I went to bed without giving it much thought. I awoke this morning to a news station that believes that nothing else important could have happened today or over the weekend, and my Facebook friends posting all about it. I guess you can say that I am jumping on the bandwagon with this blog, but as a historian and a scholar I just felt that I needed to put my thoughts out in the mix with everyone elses.
10 years ago I was 13. It feels like most of my life has been lived under the shadow of 9/11, Bin Laden, and the wars in the Middle East. It seems a little surreal. Like a child learning that the Boogie Man that you have lived in fear of coming out from under your bed for years... is now dead. Over the years, I have come to know people who have fought, people who have waited for those to come home, and I have been lucky enough to not feel the loss that many others have felt.
I admit to being critical over the last few years. I still am very critical. I will be the first to admit that. I will also state that I have studied history. I have studied wars. I am critical of every war, past, current, and future. For example, in many ways, the Revolutionary War can be viewed and treason. It is all in the perspective. But I digress. This blog is about the death of Bin Laden, not about perspectives on war.
Today I wonder what this death will truly bring us. Today I wonder if it is a good thing that the man is dead. Today I ponder the moral issue of murder. Today I wonder if whoever will take over and fill his shoes will be worse or easier to take out or manipulate. Today I wonder what the backlash will be. Today I wonder if it was worth it.
No one can say for sure right now. It is a bit like we are between a Roc and a hard place.Sure he was bad, Public Enemy #1 or something like that, but there is the uncertainty of his successor. It is like a new chapter that is beginning and all we have to go on is the last sentence of the previous chapter. "And Bin Laden is dead." Like reading a suspense thriller that isn't finished. All we have this the chapter heading of the subsequent installment.
I can hope that this means the end. I can hope that with the head cut off that another will not grow back. But I have to admit that am not too optimistic. Wars have been happening in this area for centuries. And the United States' current position in the World's Political Sphere does not easily provide peace. There are many reasons for opposing groups to hate the USA. There are many reasons that are even logical. And unfortunately, while we were retaliating (after 10 years) against a crime against Americans, the horrible cycle of revenge is just as likely to continue as it is to not.
We can praise his death. We can celebrate. But we also have to understand that a whole new can of worms has been opened. And consequences for actions must be accounted for no matter what noble intentions the actions may have been carried out under.
And those are just my thoughts on the matter.
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