People shouting for their victory with full of excitement and joy on their faces.
This charmingly-seeming picture caught my eyes when I scrolled the New York Times website, the day before yesterday. It seemed a happy news until I read the headline of the News: Announce of Bin Laden's death - I actually don't remember the exact headline, but it was like this.
The picture drove me to consider human life. Why these people cried out for excitement of a person's death?
Osama Bin Laden was the head of Al Qaeda, which attacked the world trade center, causing the horrible disaster, 9.11. I understand why people wanted to cry out for the death of the terrible terrorism group's leader, and, I always lose my words when I think about those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I cannot feel the sorrow and lament of the relatives of the victims exactly the same way as they do. I feel vary sad when thinking about them, and get compassion for them, but I cannot feel the depth of their sadness. Therefore, tried to imagine what they feel, and don't want to spoil their feelings by write critically on this matter. Nevertheless, I felt something different when I saw the picture, and I think that is important.
Are these people seem excited for a person's death?
It was very hard to explain what I felt, and is still difficult, but I am sure I didn't feel the same way as the people in the picture did. Did Bin Laden's life deserve nothing but to die? Are we really happy for his death? I doubt it. At least, I don't think it's an appropriate reaction to get excited and cry out for happiness for his death.
I doubt if people in that picture cared that CIA was once financially assisted Bin Laden when the Soviet war in Afghanistan. American government have claimed that they needed to fight against bad when they fight for conflicts or wars. They are not wrong, but what I cannot neglect is that they fight against bad only when it's good for American politics. Noam Chomsky wrote more specifically with critical view about America's irrational fights in history, on his book "9-11"(2001). Do the people care or consider these facts and still get excited about Bin's death? Or do they feel happy because the leader of the murderer group got killed? Oh, wait ! 21 century is not the time like people all feel happy with an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Code of Hammurabi was for 3500 years ago. It's out of date!
What I want to express here is not any criticism of America, or the people in the picture; what I want to say is that I doubt that excitement or happiness is the right feeling to have even when facing a death of a horrible terrorist. I don't want to believe that people are that cold. There must be things we must do other than get excited with the news. There are people who still cry for their relatives who got killed by terrorists. And, there are many innocent people who cannot sleep because of the fear of bombs and bullets for conflicts. There are people who need help to find food for tomorrow and shelter for tonight. There are tons of people who need help to live their lives.
Only one person cannot change the whole world, but each of us can think of those who suffering. We might not save them, but we can pray for them with clean mind. We might not be able to achieve world's peace and happiness with relatively small number of our friends, but we can care for other people and achieve a small happiness and peace for today. We can appreciate our lives, make one more smile than yesterday, believing that it will spread from people to people, and one day in the future, that smile reach the suffering people for who we pray today.
