Osama
A few weeks ago I tried to explain the difference between a bigot who spends his life reveling in the deaths of the heroic and blameless, and one day celebrating the death of that bigot. I feel much the same way about the recent death of Bin Laden. Some have argued that " monsters take pleasure in the deaths of their enemies", or that that from a politically neutral humanistic standpoint the two "look the same". Maybe you don't see a difference, but the difference I see is stark and undeniable. From a secular perspective of reason, ethics, and justice it is trivially easy to differentiate the deaths of thousands of people from the architect of their death.
I'll explain how I can celebrate this bad thing with a justification for celebrating a far worse thing. On one hand I appreciate the beautiful variation and unique gift of all God's creatures. On the other hand some of those creatures happen to be smallpox and polio. On the one hand those creatures are blithely, innocently, naturally, and blamelessly doing exactly what nature "intends" them to do. On the one hand it's a serious matter to kill anything, let alone an entire population, let alone every living representative of entire species. On the other hand smallpox and polio are the source of significant crippling and unnecessary suffering with no purpose or benefit. Despite my appreciation of its moral complications, you will not find a more enthusiastic celebrant of smallpox eradication than me. I find the eradication of an entire morally blameless species to be substantially more troubling than the eradication of one particular egregious, willfully culpable immoral individual.
Not that this issue is entirely cut-and-dry. Not knowing their involvement, I regret that Osama's wife, son, and couriers were killed, but in a compound where 23 children and nine women were living that's a pretty good outcome. I regret that Osama himself wasn't taken alive and given the fair trial that all terrorists and criminals are entitled to. If the rules of engagement forbade his live capture, I'll be disappointed at the lost opportunity. I also recognize that the United States has a pattern (intentional or otherwise) of inflating exaggerated bogeymen out of criminals and tin pot dictators - a point brilliantly illustrated by " The Power Of Nightmares" (which I strongly recommend). I'm far more comfortable promoting an end to hostility than perpetuation of violence. These issues and criticisms seem important and well worth discussing, and this is far from a complete list. But whether Osama was a fellow human with a momma who loved him is about as relevant to me as whether his body contains the same ratio of chemical isotopes as mine. It's true, but if that's the detail you think is worth focus on it's no wonder we see this differently.
It sucks that we had to kill a guy. It sucks that this guy orchestrated the killing of three thousand guys. It sucks that these events are the latest in a history that hasn't unfolded the way that you and I might choose. It is almost never right to celebrate a death. But this weekend the United States accomplished a just, difficult, deserved, decade-long top priority. Many priorities remain, but the accomplishment of this one is well worth celebrating without significant ethical qualms. I recognize that deontological ethics is a system which allows us to start with whatever ethical principles we choose - "all death is bad", "all life is precious", etc. But my chief complaint about Libertarians also applies here. If you start from an unassailable premise and are able to follow it to a crazy conclusion such as equating two obviously inequitable things you may wish to reexamine your premises.
"...with every being the primal emotions are there. All men have an emotion to kill; when they strongly dislike some one they involuntarily wish he was dead. I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction." -Mark Twain Clarence Darrow
Update: For what it's worth, The Daily Show seems to be on this page too:
On any occasion like this, there will be people who will try to give us "perspective". This is not the time. ... Last night was a good night. For me, and not just for New York and DC or for America but for human people. The face of the Arab World in America's eyes for too long has been Bin Laden, and now it is not. Now, the face is only the young people in Egypt and Tunisia and the all the middle eastern countries where freedom rises up. Al Qaeda's opportunity is gone. For the last 10 years Al Qaeda had the world's attention. They apparently wanted an ideology competition. And for all of our rights and wrongs and all the world's rights and wrongs, all Al Qaeda seems to have come up with is "We killed some Americans. How about killing some British people? Maybe bombing Yemen? Shoe bomb doesn't work? How about an underwear bomb?" They have nothing.
Update 2: Wired explains How to Explain to Your Kids Why It’s OK to Celebrate Osama bin Laden’s Death
I'll explain how I can celebrate this bad thing with a justification for celebrating a far worse thing. On one hand I appreciate the beautiful variation and unique gift of all God's creatures. On the other hand some of those creatures happen to be smallpox and polio. On the one hand those creatures are blithely, innocently, naturally, and blamelessly doing exactly what nature "intends" them to do. On the one hand it's a serious matter to kill anything, let alone an entire population, let alone every living representative of entire species. On the other hand smallpox and polio are the source of significant crippling and unnecessary suffering with no purpose or benefit. Despite my appreciation of its moral complications, you will not find a more enthusiastic celebrant of smallpox eradication than me. I find the eradication of an entire morally blameless species to be substantially more troubling than the eradication of one particular egregious, willfully culpable immoral individual.
Not that this issue is entirely cut-and-dry. Not knowing their involvement, I regret that Osama's wife, son, and couriers were killed, but in a compound where 23 children and nine women were living that's a pretty good outcome. I regret that Osama himself wasn't taken alive and given the fair trial that all terrorists and criminals are entitled to. If the rules of engagement forbade his live capture, I'll be disappointed at the lost opportunity. I also recognize that the United States has a pattern (intentional or otherwise) of inflating exaggerated bogeymen out of criminals and tin pot dictators - a point brilliantly illustrated by " The Power Of Nightmares" (which I strongly recommend). I'm far more comfortable promoting an end to hostility than perpetuation of violence. These issues and criticisms seem important and well worth discussing, and this is far from a complete list. But whether Osama was a fellow human with a momma who loved him is about as relevant to me as whether his body contains the same ratio of chemical isotopes as mine. It's true, but if that's the detail you think is worth focus on it's no wonder we see this differently.
It sucks that we had to kill a guy. It sucks that this guy orchestrated the killing of three thousand guys. It sucks that these events are the latest in a history that hasn't unfolded the way that you and I might choose. It is almost never right to celebrate a death. But this weekend the United States accomplished a just, difficult, deserved, decade-long top priority. Many priorities remain, but the accomplishment of this one is well worth celebrating without significant ethical qualms. I recognize that deontological ethics is a system which allows us to start with whatever ethical principles we choose - "all death is bad", "all life is precious", etc. But my chief complaint about Libertarians also applies here. If you start from an unassailable premise and are able to follow it to a crazy conclusion such as equating two obviously inequitable things you may wish to reexamine your premises.
"...with every being the primal emotions are there. All men have an emotion to kill; when they strongly dislike some one they involuntarily wish he was dead. I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction." -Mark Twain Clarence Darrow
Update: For what it's worth, The Daily Show seems to be on this page too:
On any occasion like this, there will be people who will try to give us "perspective". This is not the time. ... Last night was a good night. For me, and not just for New York and DC or for America but for human people. The face of the Arab World in America's eyes for too long has been Bin Laden, and now it is not. Now, the face is only the young people in Egypt and Tunisia and the all the middle eastern countries where freedom rises up. Al Qaeda's opportunity is gone. For the last 10 years Al Qaeda had the world's attention. They apparently wanted an ideology competition. And for all of our rights and wrongs and all the world's rights and wrongs, all Al Qaeda seems to have come up with is "We killed some Americans. How about killing some British people? Maybe bombing Yemen? Shoe bomb doesn't work? How about an underwear bomb?" They have nothing.
Update 2: Wired explains How to Explain to Your Kids Why It’s OK to Celebrate Osama bin Laden’s Death