Re: May all beings be happy and free from suffering (Osama)
I really appreciate this thread and the posts on Facebook I've encountered by folks who offer concerns about the mass reaction to Osama bin Laden's death. I too find no cause for celebration. I don't know of any intelligence that bin Laden was planning anything that posed a current threat. This seemed to be a plain revenge killing. With no respect for American due process of law.
I mean, it sounds like the killing was in self-defense, possibly, but it's being described in the media as the Navy SEALs riding in and executing the outlaw. And it's to be expected that the usual yahoos will cheer and high five, but this celebratory mood has extended even as far as NPR, which was presenting this story as "justice having been carried out." What kind of justice? Since when does America condone vigilante justice? Our justice system may be imperfect, but it is better than gunfights and executions.
The kind of society that kind of "justice" creates is not the kind of society in which the things I value flourish. Some Americans fantasize about returning to a cowboy kind of culture where everyone walks around with guns strapped to their sides. I find this absurd, childish, as everyone likes to imagine they are John Wayne, the quickest draw who would always crush all enemies. But the truth is most people would lose these street battles. And who would the winners be? Might and agility are not always paired with wisdom and morality, often the most ruthless, the "winners" are less sensitive and moral. So we could have a world where a few thugs rise to the top and rule over others, as opposed to a world in which society allows people of varied talents to survive and flourish together, and make art and culture and peace.
I am really starting to feel disgusted by the society I live in. Part of me wants to see these blind Tea Party fools get what they want, a smaller government with less restrictions on big corporations, no programs for the poor or the elderly who have contributed their lives to society, hicks strapped with guns killing each other. Move to some more civilized place and watch them all kill each other. I'm not proud of that, I don't think that is a good way to think, but sometimes I despair in seeing how fully the three poisons have taken hold of this society. I just don't know what to do when people claim it's patriotic to fight against programs for the poor and to wish to return to times when might and brutality were the ruling forces. Because of their selfish romanticized dream that they could be the big dog.
I see this jubilation over bin Laden's death as a product of this mindset. Not only do I think that killing should never be celebrated, even when it is necessary, I think it's twisted to call it "justice." I do believe in the justice that happens when people are brought to trial, when there is a chance to review and examine and question and maybe understand what happened, and why. All that happened, was killing.
I really appreciate this thread and the posts on Facebook I've encountered by folks who offer concerns about the mass reaction to Osama bin Laden's death. I too find no cause for celebration. I don't know of any intelligence that bin Laden was planning anything that posed a current threat. This seemed to be a plain revenge killing. With no respect for American due process of law.
I mean, it sounds like the killing was in self-defense, possibly, but it's being described in the media as the Navy SEALs riding in and executing the outlaw. And it's to be expected that the usual yahoos will cheer and high five, but this celebratory mood has extended even as far as NPR, which was presenting this story as "justice having been carried out." What kind of justice? Since when does America condone vigilante justice? Our justice system may be imperfect, but it is better than gunfights and executions.
The kind of society that kind of "justice" creates is not the kind of society in which the things I value flourish. Some Americans fantasize about returning to a cowboy kind of culture where everyone walks around with guns strapped to their sides. I find this absurd, childish, as everyone likes to imagine they are John Wayne, the quickest draw who would always crush all enemies. But the truth is most people would lose these street battles. And who would the winners be? Might and agility are not always paired with wisdom and morality, often the most ruthless, the "winners" are less sensitive and moral. So we could have a world where a few thugs rise to the top and rule over others, as opposed to a world in which society allows people of varied talents to survive and flourish together, and make art and culture and peace.
I am really starting to feel disgusted by the society I live in. Part of me wants to see these blind Tea Party fools get what they want, a smaller government with less restrictions on big corporations, no programs for the poor or the elderly who have contributed their lives to society, hicks strapped with guns killing each other. Move to some more civilized place and watch them all kill each other. I'm not proud of that, I don't think that is a good way to think, but sometimes I despair in seeing how fully the three poisons have taken hold of this society. I just don't know what to do when people claim it's patriotic to fight against programs for the poor and to wish to return to times when might and brutality were the ruling forces. Because of their selfish romanticized dream that they could be the big dog.
I see this jubilation over bin Laden's death as a product of this mindset. Not only do I think that killing should never be celebrated, even when it is necessary, I think it's twisted to call it "justice." I do believe in the justice that happens when people are brought to trial, when there is a chance to review and examine and question and maybe understand what happened, and why. All that happened, was killing.
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