Chan Lowe: Osama's big surprise
“Justice was done.”
I wonder. Sure, it’s fine for us to indulge in a patriotic frenzy, a kind of national end-zone dance over the death of America’s No.1 villain, but along with the jubilation, a couple of sober thoughts: There is a fine line between revenge and justice. To me, true justice would have been for bin Laden to recognize the error of his ways before he was executed, and to realize that in return for his acts, he would be deprived of something valuable to him. Not only that, but that he would have been made to understand that his life’s work had been worthless.
After all, he deprived many thousands of their most valuable possession⎯their lives⎯as well as many thousands more of their loved ones. He wounded a nation. The problem with bin Laden and his kind, however, is that their lives are valueless to them. In fact, rather than depriving him of something, we provided the key that unlocked (for him) the gates of eternal paradise, since he believed he was doing God’s work. All we did was close the circle of fanaticism. He knew he was going to die eventually, and to him he died a noble warrior.
Of course, getting rid of him was something we as a nation had to do. We are blessed to have the kind of dedicated, courageous and skilled servicemen capable of carrying out such a harrowing mission, and they deserve our gratitude. I’m sure those who lost loved ones feel to some small extent vindicated.
I hope, though, that wherever Osama bin Laden is now, he is finally facing the justice he so richly deserves.
CHAN LOWE has been the Sun Sentinel’s first and only editorial cartoonist for the past twenty-six years. Before that, he worked as cartoonist and writer for the Oklahoma City Times and the Shawnee (OK) News-Star.
Comments
Getting bin Laden to recognize the error of his ways would be defined as a first step toward repentance. Justice does not require repentance. As a case in point, several Nazis war criminals were hung after the Nuremburg trials. Most never recognized their sin, and they did not repent, but justice was served by their executions. Just the same, when a sinner does not repent and turn to Christ in this life, he will be consigned by God to an eternity in Hell. To say that justice was not served because the sinner did not repent is to say that God failed, and by definition, God never fails and He cannot fail.
Posted by: Jack | May 2, 2011 5:03 PM
how do you know that he really felt he died a noble warrior? maybe he didn't really feel that way, after all he didn't act very noble in life; he sent others to do his dirty work. we will never know what he really felt and i'm going to continue to think that in the end people truly know what they are.
Posted by: ned | May 2, 2011 5:56 PM
Keep following your fairy tales, Jack.
Posted by: Billy | May 3, 2011 1:48 AM
Amazing scene from "Patriot Games" foreshadowed Sunday night at Obama's White House...
Posted by: Dan | May 3, 2011 7:57 AM
He will be, has been, judged by the One True God.
Kudos to the President for approving the plan and signing the orders-he will be remembered in history favorably for this decision.
Kudos to those who had the wisdom to hold our prisoners at Guantanamo, and treat them as military prisoners. That intelligence is responsible for the outcome.
And special thanks to our fighting men and women-in this case the Navy SEALS, for putting themselves in harms way to serve our country, and the world.
Posted by: Wah | May 3, 2011 10:43 AM