Sunday, May 01, 2011

Thoughts on Bin Laden's Death

It's hard to know how to feel. I don't think I've ever felt especially good when hearing that another living creature has died.  Tonight, after hearing of Osama bin Laden's death, only two real things have been swirling around in my mind:
  • Where's the forgiveness? The Bible seems pretty clear about the concept, but none of the Christians I know seem to want to think or talk about it. It's a noticeable absence.
  • Some person I don't know was killed by some other people I don't know for having killed yet more people I didn't know. This seems quite a self-centered way to be thinking of the situation, but in all honesty, I don't think I can help it. I try to put the news in practical terms and come up blank. I don't see how this changes things in the world and so it's more or less a non-event.
So what now? Sit back and watch the spectacle. People commenting on who broke the news and how they did it. Who tweeted what first. How many comments got posted to Facebook. In scrolling through my friends list, it seems the majority of the people on it don't know what to think. Comments about international rule of law, gas prices, the effectiveness of different presidents in getting the job done.  None of these things seems consequential - but that's what we focus on because that's who we are.

No comments: