May 2, 2011 7:12 AM

An opportunity for some chest-thumping, but what's changed?

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

  • Buddha

I suppose you can count me among those taking some degree of solace in the news of the death of Osama bin-Laden. Anytime anyone whose raison d’etre revolves around unspeakable evil sheds their mortal coil, the world becomes a better place, if only just. It’s not exactly a stretch to say that the world is better off for the death of bin-Laden…and yet I find myself thinking that perhaps the celebrating and chest-thumping is a bit overdone. I understand the catharsis that this news provides a country sorely in need of good news. Still, the death of one man, no matter how unspeakably evil, really holds very little hope of changing much of anything.

Yes, bin-Laden led an organization that planned and executed the 9.11 attacks, arguably the darkest day in our history. In light of that terrible day, justice cried out for bin-Laden’s scalp. Now we have it…and it changes little. We still live in a country irretrievably warped and scarred by the fear of terrorism. Anyone who flies understand just how much our world has changed. So much of our public life is defined by the fear of terrorism that we’ve tarred all Muslims with the same brush. To far too many Americans, Muslims are defined by a simple, yet horribly overly simplistic and inaccurate equation:

ISLAM = TERRORISM

This equation wasn’t true on 9.12, and it’s no more true now. Focusing on that fear and hatred of The Other has kept us from being honest about the real dangers we face. It’s also kept us from recognizing and admitting that the terrorists really have won. Just look around and think about the way the world has changed since 9.11. As a nation, we’ve become less free, less tolerant, and far more suspicious and intolerant of those who think, look, and worship differently. 9.11 wasn’t the biggest victory achieved by al-Qaeda; it was merely the beginning of a long war. Most of the victories al-Qaeda has achieved over the ensuing 10 years are ones that we willingly handed them out of fear.

We’ve allowed our fear to divide us in ways and along lines that didn’t exist in the days prior to 9.11. Will the death of bin-Laden now magically convince Americans that we no longer need to fear a person merely on the basis of their religion? Can we now let down our guard because we’ve eliminated our national bogeyman? Will al-Qaeda simply disband and take up a life of non-violence?

The death of Osama bin-Laden will ultimately really have value only if we look inward and acknowledge what we’ve allowed fear to do to us. Once we can acknowledge that, perhaps we can begin to find healthier ways to react to a world that was, is, and remains a dangerous place to be.

Osama bin-Laden was only one person. He may have been the face of al-Qaeda to Americans, but it seems unlikely that killing bin-Laden will inexorably lead to the demise of al-Qaeda. Someone as yet unknown will likely rise to assume his leadership role. Without a doubt, al-Qaeda will continue to change and evolve over time, and their commitment to destroying America and the West will continue apace. Evil is not an easy thing to kill, because it spreads like a virus. Yes, we may have killed the host, the person most famous for spreading a doctrine of evil and hatred, but the virus has long since spread far and wide.

Osama bin-Laden is dead…and that’s a good thing. Outside of giving Americans a reason to feel good about themselves, though, I can’t see how this news changes much of anything.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on May 2, 2011 7:12 AM.

This is what happens when advertisers targets sex offender registries was the previous entry in this blog.

Sure, Osama's dead...but what about the question on everyone's mind?? is the next entry in this blog.

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