On the Death of bin Laden

I know I sound like a spoil-sport, but I have mixed feelings about celebrating bin Laden's, or anyone's, death. On the one hand it's comforting to know that he is no more. On the other hand the celebrations remind me too much of the sickening spectacle of Palestinians dancing in the streets in the wake of 9/11. There's something about rejoicing at the death of others, even those like Hitler or bin Laden, that strikes me as uncivilized, unAmerican, and unChristian.

Let's take satisfaction in the fact that a necessary task has been accomplished. Let's admire the courage and skill of the men and women who were responsible for finding this awful man and killing him.

But let's not celebrate. Let's view it as a job that needed to be done, like executing a serial killer, but one that gives us no delight. Let's not act like those barbaric Palestinians who rejoiced at the deaths of Americans a decade ago.

Instead, maybe we'd do better to keep in mind two admonitions from the Book of Proverbs. The first applies to Osama bin Laden, the second applies to us:

"A man who is laden with guilt of human blood will be a fugitive until his death." Prov. 28:17

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles." Prov. 24:17