Why I Will Celebrate

There has been a lot of talk over the past 24 hours about how we, as American citizens, should not be celebrating the death of the terrorist who, without provocation, slaughtered thousands of people, both civilian and military. The reasons for this non-celebratory attitude differ: some people are afraid of terrorist retaliation if they see us having a nation-wide shindig, some people are pacifists and dislike any and all conflict regardless of the justification, and some people feel we should be like Jesus and mourn the loss of a life, no matter how vile it was nor how much intentional destruction it caused.

I am not one of those people.

Here are the facts: 1. American military forces executed a man guilty of multiple premeditated, unprovoked mass murders. 2. They did so in face-to-face combat. 3. Bin Laden knew who killed him, why they killed him, and was caught entirely off-guard when it occured.

Those facts are indisputable, so let's address the various theories of non-celebratory behavior put forth by these nincompoops.

Any terrorist cells loyal to Bin Laden will want revenge for the death of their leader. Whether or not we engage in celebratory behavior will neither encourage nor dissuade them from that position. If you really believe it will, you have the reasoning capabilities of a two-year-old who thinks that screaming at the night sky will cause it to turn to daylight again. Just as there is no correlation between screaming and sunrise, so is there no correlation between celebratory behavior and terrorist actions. Terrorists have a callous disregard for all forms of life and will do what they will do regardless of the state of the rest of the world.

The pacifists will remain unmotivated no matter what happens. A true pacifist will not condone or participate in any type of conflict or combative behavior, preferring instead to sit idly by, wringing their hands while wishing everyone would just love one another and sing Kumbayah. Unfortunately for pacifists, however, terrorists tend to be unreasonable people and are thus entirely unmoved by displays of pacifism. The main trouble with pacifism, though, is that it consists entirely of people who refuse to stand up for their own beliefs, refuse to protect what they hold dear, refuse to take action against those people or circumstances who would seek to do harm. The very root word of pacifism, passive, means to submit without resistance. And I cannot condone an ideology that consists of sitting idly by and submitting to the the machinations of an evil madman without resistance. Call me a warmonger if you wish.

And now we come to the question of What Would Jesus Do? Well, you can quote Bible verses at me all day long and into the night, but when people begin using Bibilical passages as a means to justify pacifism, I tend to give them the same consideration as I would Jim Bakker, who as you'll recall, used Bible verses as a means to justify personal financial gain. While I do agree that it is admirable, and Godly, to forgive your enemies and wish for their conversion and redemption, I also believe that allowing the continued massacre of innocent people puts their blood on YOUR hands as well. After all, you are either for it or against it. There is no middle ground when it comes to the question of the taking of human life. I stand resolute that we as Americans should, and have a responsibility to, do everything in our power to protect our families and fellow citizens from reigns of terror.

Osama Bin Laden's assasination is unquestionably a good thing. No, it will not bring back the dead. It will not erase the pain felt by their families and friends, and it will not reverse the horrific events that have transpired over the past ten years. It may or may not bring "closure" to people; that psychological term cannot be narrowed to a precise definition or composition; it is brought about differently for everyone.

What it DOES do, however, is bring justice. If you intentionally decide to end the life of another human being without their consent (or at least a morally and legally reasonable justification), we in the civilized free world deem than unpardonable, and the payment for such an atrocity is the relinquishment of your own life and freedoms. Should you decide not to comply, you will be summarily executed. And when you happen to have planned, encouraged, and brought about the entirely unprovoked murders of thousands of people, your death will be met with much revelry and relief. That much is certain.

So I WILL celebrate...because his death means he can no longer orchestrate the senseless deaths of others. I WILL celebrate...the defeat of evil in this world. I WILL celebrate...because I am proud that American forces were the ones who removed this vile cancer from among the living. And I will celebrate without fear of retaliation, because I refuse to give any terrorists the satisfaction of my fear.