Today, a variety of student perspectives were published in the Harvard Crimson on the death of the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.
I will always vividly remember the events of September 2001, watching my 4th grade teacher in Missouri receive a phone call and deliver the news that the Pentagon had just been bombed. As President Obama visits Ground Zero tomorrow, let us never forget those who died on 9/11 at the hands of this indefensible terrorist’s despicable actions, and let us never feel compelled to make excuses for our patriotic spontaneity. Three days after 9/11, President Bush gave his spontaneous Ground Zero bullhorn speech, which I will never forget. “I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”
Bin Laden has heard all of us now. This is not the end of terrorism, but it is the end of bin Laden. Blind patriotism is indeed dangerous, but those who celebrated in Harvard Yard and across the world Monday morning were not being shortsighted at all. Just as I will never forget 9/11, I will never forget rejoicing at the news of bin Laden’s death with my classmates, draping an American flag over John Harvard, and chanting “U-S-A!” with elation. The celebrations were sparked by the death of a man, yes, but they were conducted in the name of something greater. The long, uninterrupted moment of silence for the 9/11 victims and our troops during Monday’s chaotic Harvard Yard rally goes sorely unmentioned by the critics of the celebration, but was one of the most powerful moments I have experienced in college thus far.
Amidst the commotion, the most significant moment of the night for me was meeting an American veteran just to the right of the John Harvard statue. He was wearing a hat and glasses, was in his 50s, and came to the rally upon hearing the U-S-A cheers. Many thanked him for his service, and he wholeheartedly joined in the cheering and singing. Seeing his emotional reaction to the Harvard Yard celebrations is why Monday’s rally was one of the unforgettable memories I will take away from this place and look back upon with dignity and pride.
Kennedy School Professor David Gergen (Law ’67) is correct in contending that the news of bin Laden’s death “not only electrified Americans but brought us together as a people in a way we haven’t seen since 9/11.” As Americans, we should all be proud of our country. We should certainly question our government and take our leaders’ words with a grain of salt and healthy skepticism. But for those who love our great nation, pride in country necessitates celebrating the end of an evil enemy who strove to terrorize the world. In this case, Presidents Bush and Obama should be applauded for their courageous moral leadership, decisive pursuit of justice, and for showing the world that America stands against what is evil in the name of what is good.
Osama bin Laden’s death represents more than the end of a human life. It represents the demise of the ideals he embodied and the end of his hatred towards America. It is one of the most important events of our lives, and it helps bring closure to those who lost loved ones to his terror. Muslims rightfully reject the notion that bin Laden or al Qaeda represent Muslims or Islam. Those who condemn celebrations of bin Laden’s death are quick to offer a line from Proverbs 24:17, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles.” Families of victims of the 9/11 attacks, however, find solace in Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.”
Those around the world should know we are celebrating the symbolic end of an era. For a few short hours in Harvard Yard Monday night, and on college campuses and public squares across the nation, we were united as one American people. There are those who say this milestone will not change anything: let us prove them wrong. Let us heed our President’s call for enduring national unity. Alleging that Americans are “unfeeling and inconsiderate” is false and does not achieve that end. Using religion, hate, or manipulation to further one’s cause is dangerous, and is precisely what bin Laden did. But the celebration of a just and good victory should never be muted. With humility at the forefront of American foreign policy and the strength of conviction to support it, we can demonstrate to the world – especially to those who terrorize – that freedom and justice, in the end, will always prevail.
Photo Credit: CBS News