Roger Porter
May 2, 2011
There is so much trouble in the world right now, so much confusion, and so much futility.
I’m sorry but I won’t allow myself to confuse murder with justice. I understand that a lot of people feel like Bin Laden deserved to die for what he did, and maybe part of me does too, but that doesn’t make it justice. Justice in America is due process and, for all of those who have recently forgotten, we pride ourselves as a Christian nation. As followers of Christ and believers in Holy Scripture it’s hard for me to see how we can celebrate the murder of 5 people. If murder is an abomination then that should hold true for everyone. As a civilized people we should not make exceptions for anyone no matter how heinous their crimes. It is our duty to show enlightenment even in the way we punish criminals— especially in the way we punish criminals. But in the case of Bin Laden there was only a dead body dumped in the sea. There will be no prison time for him, no reformation, no suffering, just the martyr’s death that he has probably dreamed of since he was a little boy.
And what do we make of the heavily populated city where Bin Laden was killed? Pakistan has some of the poorest regions in the world, yet Bin Laden was able to walk around town with a $25 million price tag on his head for years. In the end it wasn’t a member of his organization or any of his countrymen that killed him for the money; to the contrary, it was US Navy SEALS who killed him because it was their job. This speaks volumes to the dedication of his followers. And it makes me question our objective in this so-called war on terror.
I mean are we supposed to bomb these people into submission? Are we supposed to show them the light of democracy? Are we supposed to just keep slugging it out until we win? Well then what classifies as a victory because, as capitalists, there is no way we are going to change the ideology of a culture that has very little regard for money. How does America defeat an organization that would pass up on $25 million everyday for 10 years straight in the name of faith and honor?
The death of Bin Laden has been touted by some as the biggest victory in the war on terror but I see it differently. All I see is yet another casualty in a war that should have never been started in the first place. I see several more strikes from both sides in what now amounts to global gangbanging. I see a lot more deaths, I see continued military presence, I see a lot of things, but what I don’t see is an end. I don’t see justice and I don’t see god. All I see is death.