The chants and cheers echoed in college bars, sports stadiums and public streets across the country. Terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was dead from two bullets through the head, courtesy of our finest warriors, the Navy SEALs.
President Obama spoke of bin Laden getting what he “deserved.” One New York Times columnist captured the feelings of many Americans when she declared her joy at bin Laden’s death because she wanted “memory, and justice, and revenge.”
Since the raid that killed bin Laden, his death has been a continuing hot topic for debate among columnists, political leaders and ordinary citizens. I’ve heard callers to radio talk shows make comments like these:
On the one hand: “Was it right for us to shoot bin Laden? He was unarmed!”
And on the other: “They should have cut off his fingers, one by one, and tortured him first!”
Parents face important questions from their children: Was it right to kill him? Should we celebrate? Why or why not?
For some, these are tough questions - and they are complicated by the times in which we live.
We are at war against a formidable enemy. We face the continual threat of death-dealing terrorism, both here and abroad. And too many of our own courageous service members and helpless civilians already have been killed. We abhor the violence that claimed them even as we admire their bravery in defense of our freedom.
President Obama spoke of bin Laden getting what he “deserved.” One New York Times columnist captured the feelings of many Americans when she declared her joy at bin Laden’s death because she wanted “memory, and justice, and revenge.”
Since the raid that killed bin Laden, his death has been a continuing hot topic for debate among columnists, political leaders and ordinary citizens. I’ve heard callers to radio talk shows make comments like these:
On the one hand: “Was it right for us to shoot bin Laden? He was unarmed!”
And on the other: “They should have cut off his fingers, one by one, and tortured him first!”
For some, these are tough questions - and they are complicated by the times in which we live.
We are at war against a formidable enemy. We face the continual threat of death-dealing terrorism, both here and abroad. And too many of our own courageous service members and helpless civilians already have been killed. We abhor the violence that claimed them even as we admire their bravery in defense of our freedom.
