Chris Herrington, Contributing Writer
Before we completely give ourselves over to the revengeful glee we have seen portrayed as regards the death of an enemy, we might look beyond our sense of justice and satisfaction for a second or two. Was the guy a rotten scoundrel, no doubt, given his history of taking the training we gave him and using it and the money his family earned by our buying oil from them to terrorize us. It makes us wonder who else we may be training and trading with that might eventually do us a disservice.
Germany came back several times to wreak havoc in our lives: in the 19th Century, and at the beginning and middle of the 20th Century. They just could not be done with the French, it seemed.
The Chinese may not be completely lacking in compelling reasons to advance themselves into Tibet, North Korea, or towards the south, as they did in Viet Nam, and now may do regarding Pakistan. They have a past with Japan. They are hungry for resources.
We have 1,300 military bases worldwide, or more, and many people have served with our military in training exercises, as did those who were trained at the School of the Americas. We have had our troubles in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and many other island nations. We have made enemies all over the world.
When I was a kid, we had 80 nations on the planet, and now we have over 200: We don’t have more land; the land is split up into smaller countries that were dissatisfied with their governments. Some of those governments were supported by America and Americans.
There is a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction in the world, and, with all of our tendrils reaching out into the political and economic universe, it seems that we need to be aware of the potential for our turning another bad apple into a rotting corpse.
So, this is really not a time to be celebrating the death of one of our former allies; we need to spend time reflecting on where we went wrong. If we name all of the regimes we have supported in the past, we can begin to see where we might have started down the wrong track.
http://tfclub.tripod.com/list.html
http://thalassiana.blogspot.com/2011/02/list-of-dictators-supported-by-united.html
http://www.bluebloggin.com/2008/01/11/history-of-us-backed-dictators-redux/
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389×1994032
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1671
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dictators
It seems that the whole mindset of the American foreign policy is to support those who have what we want and to oppose those who do not allow us to have access to what we want. I am not sold that this is what we need to think of as the operational definition of “freedom.”
As I saw so many overjoyed at the news of bin Laden’s death, it occurred to me that we are celebrating death, and not life. Automatically, we heard 9/11 revisited, and the numerous reasons we had for hunting down this killer. On the news, we saw the compound where he had lived for years, right under the noses of the Pakistani military. We entered a sovereign nation, assassinated people who were unarmed, and we “buried the body at sea” in order to keep from creating a shrine. I, for one, wish that he had not been killed but rather that he had been captured, and had lived long enough to see what becomes of his offspring, al Qaeda. Should we capture them all, of course. Should we fight them in the streets and in their lairs, wherever they are, yes, of course. I’m not such a purest that I believe that we should not protect ourselves, our families, our nation. Far from it. I do, however, believe that at no time will there ever arise the need to celebrate the death of another human being. I would never want to dehumanize myself enough for me to objectify the personhood of another human, even a mass murderer, such as bin Laden. I would not want to be perceived as relishing any death, not by my children nor by my enemies.
We cannot take the high road in a battle in a worldwide war for the conscience of our planet if we are to become like those whom we are fighting. It is indefensible. I would not want to argue that I have some spiritual truth to offer the world, and yet my approach is offer only military solutions for all problems. I feel this way about the drug war, the illegal worker problem, and the constant bickering between those on either side of the national debate on reforming healthcare, education, and public policies of national security. Once we have added threatening language and deadly force to the table, the potential for honesty and negotiation is gone. No, I would not negotiate with terrorists, but I would negotiate what we should do with them once they are caught. We do not have that option once the terrorist is dead. If anything, the best message would have been Osama bin Laden, terrorist and ruthless destroyer, in court in the United States of America, answering directly to the people. This would show the world what justice really looks like. Revenge is not justice, but rather it is acting without mercy. To do the same to him is to be like him, to be him, to be bin Laden.
If I am free to respond, then I can act beyond the emotions of pain and frustration, beyond revenge and anger, free to look at all of the facts, in context, the transcripts open to the world for all to see that the United States deals with all criminals with equal justice. He may have been angry with us, settled the score by stealing planes, killing women and children, attacking civilians, and causing a panic, but we can do one better. We can operate within the laws we hold so dear, take our enemies captive, hold them in the seat of judgment. Reveal the truth behind his arguments, and the lies. And we can show the world that we are America, the land of the free and the home of those who are brave enough to use due process as the pathway to justice.
I would have voted for bin Laden to be held, judged, and convicted, and that he be jailed for life in maximum security, never to see the light of day, and to watch FOX News, NPR, FreeSpeechtv, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Comedy Central on a rotating basis 24 hours a day for the remainder of his life. This is the punishment I would wish on my worst enemy, to see the American people going on with their lives, unfettered by hatred, free and alive.
runningturtle87
Having completed 32 years of public school service, Chris Herrington lives, with his wife, in Appleby, Texas, and his writing consists of blogging and essay writing concerning an array of topics including education, mediation, self-development, and human interests. He teaches at the Martin School of Choice, plays racquetball, and enjoys his job.
Chris Herrington can be reached at herrington@everythingnac.com
