Gloating doesn’t become us

We know Osama bin Laden as the man who masterminded 9/11 and as the head of al-Qaida. That isn’t where his description ends. He was a husband. We know this because he was with one of his wives when he was killed. He was also a father. He had a father and a mother and siblings, and he had an extended family consisting of aunts, uncles and cousins as well as nieces and nephews. That is just a smattering of all the people in this world whose lives he affected. To those who knew him, his influence was positive more often than not.

No, this doesn’t undo the atrocities the man committed. But it does help place things in perspective.

When we celebrate Osama bin Laden’s death, we are telling all these people that their opinion of him doesn’t matter. We are saying that only our opinion matters, that the truth only pulls our wagon.

I wouldn’t be too smug. That’s the reason why Osama bin Laden hated America in the first place, and he had a point, even if he carried this point to an indefensible extreme.

Art Seaton

Spokane