Anyone else remember this?
I was teaching English Composition and part of each student's assignment was to present their argument to the class, usually with a slideshow or video, and prepare for rebuttal.
In 2004 one of my students presented a very graphic argument for the use of torture on suspected terrorists in the "War on Terror." You know who turned out to be one of the most vehement and articulate opponents of his argument? The soldier student who typically said few words to anyone.
I'm having a pretty hard time articulating what I'm getting at this morning, but that moment, along with the story of the American contractors who were killed, mutilated, burned, and hung from the bridge in Iraq keep coming to my mind this morning, especially those video clips where all the civilians in the vicinity of the bodies were shouting nationalistic chants and exulting in the deaths. It was those kinds of scenes that reverberated with my students and made them blood thirsty themselves. Monsters! Gleefully exulting in death!
Ευλογειτε
It's the word first used when the Creator of the Universe made the sabbath holy -- He blessed it.
It's the same word Christ uses in his Sermon on the Mount, bless those who persecute you.
It's the same thought echoed in Romans 12: bless and do not curse.
We don't get it.
We chant and exult and raise our hands in praise of the death of our enemy and wrap ourselves in our nationalistic pride as a defense, because we are the good guys, and they are the monsters, and Christ obviously didn't get it, or He didn't mean what he said, at least not in cases like these, right?
The nations rage on. And so very few of us weep.
I was teaching English Composition and part of each student's assignment was to present their argument to the class, usually with a slideshow or video, and prepare for rebuttal.
In 2004 one of my students presented a very graphic argument for the use of torture on suspected terrorists in the "War on Terror." You know who turned out to be one of the most vehement and articulate opponents of his argument? The soldier student who typically said few words to anyone.
I'm having a pretty hard time articulating what I'm getting at this morning, but that moment, along with the story of the American contractors who were killed, mutilated, burned, and hung from the bridge in Iraq keep coming to my mind this morning, especially those video clips where all the civilians in the vicinity of the bodies were shouting nationalistic chants and exulting in the deaths. It was those kinds of scenes that reverberated with my students and made them blood thirsty themselves. Monsters! Gleefully exulting in death!
Ευλογειτε
It's the word first used when the Creator of the Universe made the sabbath holy -- He blessed it.
It's the same word Christ uses in his Sermon on the Mount, bless those who persecute you.
It's the same thought echoed in Romans 12: bless and do not curse.
We don't get it.
We chant and exult and raise our hands in praise of the death of our enemy and wrap ourselves in our nationalistic pride as a defense, because we are the good guys, and they are the monsters, and Christ obviously didn't get it, or He didn't mean what he said, at least not in cases like these, right?
The nations rage on. And so very few of us weep.
Personally, I didn't really feel victorious when I heard of Bin Laden's death. I wouldn't even call it a feeling of satisfaction. It was more like a combination of, "Well, it's about time," and "this doesn't reverse what he did." These thoughts were soon replaced by the depressing realization that Obama will likely spin the success of a TEN-YEAR manhunt into a personal accomplishment that will buy him a second term in office. So, rather than being happy today, I'm almost sad for our nation and what we'll become by the end of 2016.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, though...we SHOULD bless our persecutors. However, as the terrorists raised their hands in victory as thousands of our people were killed in 2001, I understand why our nation would celebrate the death of one of theirs.
When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. Prov. 11:10
ReplyDeleteThe response is totally normal. When the wicked prosper oppression increases. We do not delight in his ultimate demise. How can we? But justice has been done.
Wow! Just wow! Great post, Tori!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Death is never something to be celebrated.
ReplyDelete