This post is a modified e-mail response I wrote to a close friend. I agree with most, if not all, of Nadia's points. But I take a slightly different perspective.
First, I agree that the American triumphalist attitude towards bin Laden's death is not productive. To think that killing ONE MAN, after all, is either some sort of sign that America is winning the War on Terror or a validation of the belief that America always comes out on top is a ludicrous, childish argument to make. America has a long ways to go on both fronts. In addition, I don't know whether bin Laden's death prescribes justice for the victims of 9/11. Perhaps it does. But I will say that I was uncomfortable when President Obama, in his address to the nation, declared that justice for the 9/11 victims has been served. Osama bin Laden's death does not change the fact that the person they loved is never coming back. Justice for the dead is difficult. For these people who have lost family and friends in ways I cannot understand or comprehend, regardless of whether they perceive that justice has been served, going forward in a post-bin Laden world, I think that honoring the sacrifices made by those they love consists primarily in living good lives in honor/memory of the dead.
However, there is no doubt in my mind that a more cosmic, universal justice was served with Osama bin Laden's death, and I unashamedly celebrate that justice. I pity bin Laden and pray for his soul, but his violent death is a logical conclusion to the premise of his life. My reasoning is as follows: Osama bin Laden made rational, deliberate choices, of his own accord without being forced, to live a life of indiscriminate killing and violence. And when you live a life of violence, you by extension choose a violent death. This death may involve bodily violence ending in the death of your body, or psychological violence ending in the death of your soul, or both. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
In this sense of justice, Osama bin Laden received EXACTLY what he deserved, and I celebrate that this justice was done. I have read numerous bin Laden obituaries today, but basically the overarching portrait is that he was more than a "terrorist". He was a psychotic, mass murderer of the most evil kind. I say that because he was given all the tools in life (intelligence, wealth, charisma, political savvy, ambition, a strong family) to be a productive, helpful, even extraordinary citizen. Instead, he chose to employ all of those privileges to bring about destruction and death. He added no value to this world, only destroyed what value was there. He used his assets and education to facilitate and finance the murder of Muslim and non-Muslim civilians. He used his political savvy and ambition to slander an entire Muslim people and the Islam faith with his violence, adding to their sense of isolation, disenfranchisement, and shame. He used his charisma and intelligence not to enlighten the Arab world, but to manipulate angry, vulnerable Muslims to take up arms in a state of perpetual war against the West. He used his family ties as a platform to rail against the moral corruption of the West, all while living his own family life in Wahhabist hypocrisy where he fathered dozens of children in and out of wedlock and beat his wives. At all major turning points in his life where he was faced with an ethical choice, he chose the path of violence and hatred. Worst of all, he fully embraced those violent choices. He had multiple opportunities in the 1980's and 1990's to engage the West and Saudi Arabia diplomatically rather than violently. He could have chosen to be a leader of reform in Arab states, championing political and social reform that we KNOW now through the recent revolutions that many Arab citizens want (what those reforms are, however, is a gray issue). Even at the very end, he could have chosen to surrender to US Navy Seals instead of trying to kill them in a shootout. But Osama bin Laden always made the violent choice: his life is defined by indiscriminate murder, arms dealing, drug trading, and manipulation, all driven by a violent hatred of America and the West. Violent actions and thoughts provoke violent reactions. This is the balance of the universe. For this reason, I think that his life ending in a hail of gunfire is true justice. In death as in life, Osama bin Laden reaped what he had sowed based on his past decisions.
Some people have told me that he deserves mournfulness and even a little degree of respect, and I say why? Murderous, manipulative people like him will never, ever receive mournfulness or respect from me. I think his death merits a triumphal response from the world community, that such a negative influence on the world is gone. Today, I do not triumph knowing that Americans killed bin Laden. But, I am happy that he is dead. I am relieved that a person who would blindly show no hesitation to kill you, me, my family, or my friends based on our U.S. citizenship alone will no longer be able to perpetuate such acts of evil. Osama bin Laden's death, to me personally as a citizen of the world, is a reaffirmation of my deeply held belief that revolutionary and religious movements founded in violent actions will not succeed.
Finally, I acknowledge the point made by some that it's hard to be proud to be an American when the public images of other Americans waving American flags and chanting "U.S.A." fail to rise above the predictable, and ultimately unproductive, triumphalist response. One of the better points I've heard in the reflections on what bin Laden's death means is that the images of mostly young Americans celebrating bin Laden's death in the streets is not that different from the images of mostly young Muslims celebrating the fall of the Twin Towers on 9/11. If Americans want to truly have a sense of triumphalism, then I would hope that our actions reflect that we are better than that.
But I would also argue that without a sense of healthy patriotism, without pride in who you are, you are no one. I think that you should always be proud of your identity and, in instances where you're disappointed in those who share that identity, work to help them rise above. I am proud, today and everyday, to be American, Japanese, of Scottish descent, and a citizen of the world, because it is who I am. I am proud of these parts of my identity because they form who I am and were given to me by the blood, sweat, and tears of my ancestors, so that I could persist in my mission to rise above to where I am today. And even if it really is only one man, I am glad that Osama bin Laden will no longer be able to prevent myself or others from pursuing that mission on this Earth.
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