“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche, “Beyond Good and Evil”, Aphorism 146 (1886)
When the news broke that U.S. special forces have killed Osama bin Laden, U.S. citizens celebrated in the streets as if they had just won a championship sports tournament, complete with cheerleaders and chants of “U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!”
Pundits were on television hyping the momentous importance of the event. “Cutting off the head of a snake,” said one tough sounding commentator. But what if the serpent was really a hydra of war and violence that grows back two heads each time one is cut off, feeding off the violence and hatred directed against it?
It felt strangely anti-climactic, like the crowds and commentators were trying very hard to convince themselves of the goodness and significance of the event to mask a lingering uneasiness, an emptiness they felt. Why were the radical Islamist blogs silent? The objective of the wars was met, so why does the war on terror continue? Even Stratfor predicts “In spite of the sense of justice and closure the killing of bin Laden brings, however, his death will likely have very little practical impact on the jihadist movement.”
Bin Laden’s first win was luring the U.S. into endless wars and occupations in Muslim countries. Now even in death, he scores an ideological win becoming a martyr for his movement.
It reminded me of a movie where the ‘hero’ kills the ‘villain’ only to discover that this fulfilled the villain’s endgame to lure the hero into committing the murder, thereby becoming the evil that the hero hated most and releasing it on the world. An empty robe, a wisp of smoke and distant laughter. How do you fight ghosts? The day bin Laden’s death was announced, military bases in the Pacific region were put on elevated threatcon Bravo.
Other, more muted voices have instead called for a time of reflection. Kristen Breitweiser, a 9/11 widow writes that “today is not a day of celebration for me.”
The jubilation over the killing of bin Laden reminded me of the grisly trophy photos of lynchings with leering faces and tortured black bodies, much like the torture photos to emerge from Abu Ghraib prison or the so-called ‘Kill Team’ photos of Afghan civilians murdered by U.S. troops.
Jeffrey Acido of Nakem Youth and Hawai’i Peace and Justice posted the following reflection from a Christian perspective. He writes:
The God that Obama invokes is not the God of Christianity. It is a God made in the image of Imperialism. It hijacked the name Christian and reads the Bible from a perverted lens. This imperial religion’s symbol is not the cross that liberates but the bomb that destroys. Their favorite hymn, the stars spangled banner, sing of bombs bursting in air—it is the only time they are allowed to cry. Its followers not only kill but are already dead. This imperial religion is obsessed with security but never peace.
Thanks to Jeffrey for sharing his prophetic words.
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Grieving for our Full Humanity
“Osama is Dead!” read the headlines all over the news outlets shortly after word got out. “The war on terror is over,” remarked many political pundits. Soon after, the United States president Barrack Hussein Obama addressed the American people and the world: “We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to Al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done”. The atmosphere seemed to be a college frat party—blow up beach ball thrown around, a cheerleading squad performing a routine one would do in a football game, and shouts of “USA!, USA!” to celebrate the death of a person as a victory for a whole nation. As many Americans continued to gather in front of the White House the president ended his speech with these peculiar remarks: “Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”.
When is life grievable? If we are not capable of grieving for a life lost, whether a victim or perpetrator, then I do not think we are capable of healing from the very act that caused the tragedy; neither can we prevent and bring to attention the roots and causes of the heinous act. When we do not grieve life outside of ours we delude ourselves that we are the only ones who see the Truth. And no other truths stand before us. A thirsty soul looking for healing cannot be quenched from a well that only springs forth perverted versions of the truth—one does not heal but drowns and gets drunk in self-righteousness.
President Obama attributed the death of Osama as an American ‘value’ and that this act brought out ‘justice’. These remarks give me reason on why Americans continue to live with racism, economic exploitation, and all the other ‘isms’ we see in the world as reality—something that ought to happen. As long as Americans view justice as devoid of the ability to grieve and make this in turn a value, American transgressions will not only be tolerated but also glorified—these in turn gets translated into foreign and domestic policies. American foreign policies only see others as foreign bodies or ‘just another’ body. Domestic policies are increasingly being treated like foreign policies—if they are colored, queer, speak another language, poor, woman, indigenous, and do not look like the white-middle class-man they aspire to be then they too must be ‘foreign’—therefore treated like a ‘foreign body’—therefore a ‘nobody’—therefore has no right to live.
President Obama does not claim sole credit for this act of ‘justice’ he admits in the end that the act of killing is not his act alone but done under the empowerment of ‘one nation’ that holds (economic) wealth and (military) power, who believes in (American) liberty and guided by (Christian) God.
I want to say to all my brothers and sisters who are in the struggle against oppression at home and abroad that President Obama and those who are happily parading the streets of Osama’s death do not represent all Americans, nor certainly represent all Christians.
There is Kristen Breitweiser, an American widow, whose husband was killed in the morning of September 11, humbly says: “Forgive me, but I don’t want to watch uncorked champagne spill onto hallowed ground where thousands were murdered in cold blood.” No apology should be asked when speaking the truth. Yet, Kristin asks for one, knowing that the truth might hurt—it is a symptom of someone grieving and aware of the fact that the truth is not always palatable—but always healing.
She does not agree with the President and the One Nation when she says, “I don’t want to see any ugly blood stained sheets as proof of death or justice…And it breaks my heart to witness young Americans cheer any death — even the death of a horrible, evil, murderous person — like it is some raucous tailgate party on a college campus”. As her phone rings and the media calls her to echo the shouts of American jingoism she says: “I have to be honest, today is not a day of celebration for me.”
In the same manner as our sister Kristen Breitweiser, I too am sorry. I do not readily identify myself as an “American” despite holding an American passport but I am always ready to say that I am a Christian. But not the same as the Christianity that Obama and those happily waving the American flag in front of the White House embody.
The God that Obama invokes is not the God of Christianity. It is a God made in the image of Imperialism. It hijacked the name Christian and reads the Bible from a perverted lens. This imperial religion’s symbol is not the cross that liberates but the bomb that destroys. Their favorite hymn, the stars spangled banner, sing of bombs bursting in air—it is the only time they are allowed to cry. Its followers not only kill but are already dead. This imperial religion is obsessed with security but never peace.
This is Imperial Christianity and we have seen this God at its best (or worst). It already dropped its bombs in Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and the Pacific Islands. It put Japanese/Americans in concentration camps; occupies Hawaii and the Philippines. It lynched Blacks, Filipinos and other colored peoples in the US. And now is slowly turning once loving communities against each other via its church—The military.
The Christianity that holds the cross as a symbol of liberation affirms life at all costs. It lives on hope and practices peace. Sister Soelle reminds us that it is ‘the religion of slaves’—a religion that summons a god that can always be seen in times of despair and desolation—a god that allows for a moment of grieving—for the other, the foreign, and ourselves. It is a god that sees and hears only through our own eyes and ears. In desperate and delicate times this god requires us to pray and pray with our feet.
We cannot be silent when our future ancestors, the children of today and tomorrow, ask us: “what did you do when people were suffering in the Philippines, Hawaii, and Middle East?” or “How did you treat the homeless at the park?” To be silent in the face of war and people suffering is to imbibe our youth and propel into the future the testimony that it is acceptable to see a life or an object be treated with disrespect simply because they are powerless.
We must not let ourselves stray away from the genealogy of hope, love and struggle. We owe it to those terrorized into silence, petrified into permanent grieving, and the ancestors that have fought tirelessly to always affirm life.
Affirm Life.
Jeffrey Acido
Honolulu, Hawaii
5/3/11
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