by Deborah Globus
We found out last night that Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces. Almost 10 years and the man responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 is dead.
I had thought I’d feel more of a sense of satisfaction.
I mean, this attack was literally in my back yard – I could see the smoke plume within a mile from my home in Queens. Instead, I find myself feeling more saddened by yet another in too long a line of deaths.
The crowds at the White House and Ground Zero seem not to share this emotion though.
I wish our collective response had been closer to the symbolic gesture made during the Passover Seder to remember the Ten Plagues brought against the Egyptians:
During the Passover Seder we take wine from our cups – our symbol of joy at our freedom – to remember the suffering of the Egyptians at the plagues. We reduce our joy in the face of their suffering. We make a point of not licking our fingers and tasting the sweet wine there because we know we must not take pleasure in the pain of others.
That’s how I wish our response looked to the rest of the world.
The crowds at the White House and Ground Zero seem not to share this emotion though.
I wish our collective response had been closer to the symbolic gesture made during the Passover Seder to remember the Ten Plagues brought against the Egyptians:
During the Passover Seder we take wine from our cups – our symbol of joy at our freedom – to remember the suffering of the Egyptians at the plagues. We reduce our joy in the face of their suffering. We make a point of not licking our fingers and tasting the sweet wine there because we know we must not take pleasure in the pain of others.
That’s how I wish our response looked to the rest of the world.
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