As news spread that Osama bin Laden had been killed on Monday night, chants of “USA, USA” broke out in my school library during finals week. University students across the country rallied with joy, rather than anger. People throughout the country smiled and breathed a sigh of relief at the success of our troops.
But the critics didn’t lie down for long: you can’t celebrate death, even the death of such a horrible person. And a couple of my Jewish friends began quoting a Midrash that we always hear around Passover time: My children are dying, and you are singing songs!? God is rebuking the angels as the Egyptians are drowning in the sea. It is the angels that God rebukes in this instance. At the same time, however, Miriam leads the women in song without punishment and is in fact praised for singing the songs to God after his miracles that saved us. In our situation today, with the death of Osama, it did not cross my mind until pointed out to me by others that I was celebrating someone’s death. Because I wasn’t. I was happy and proud that I was an American, proud of our troops and intelligence for their huge accomplishments in the war with Al Qaeda, happy that the world in now a safer place, and grateful that I live in such a great country. The death of Osama was a reminder of how great America is, not how great it is to kill the bad guys.
Yes, it is easier to complain than to be grateful. It seems a part of human nature that all people struggle to overcome. But sometimes we need to sit back from our constant effort to criticize our country for its relatively little faults and recognize what opportunities we have because we are Americans, which much of the rest of the world does not enjoy. Even the ancient Rabbis sometimes forgot to be grateful for what they had, rather than what they didn’t Our morning blessings include: Blessed are You Lord our God, king of the universe for not having made me a slave…a goy…a woman. Thank you for not making me that other person. What a horrible mentality. Do we really want to be someone that walks down the street and looks down upon others, grateful for not being them? Or would we rather be people that look ourselves in the mirror and are grateful for who we are? I think that latter is what most of us desire, but the former is what comes more naturally. In my life, I follow the changes in the liturgy made by Conservative Judaism that says: Blessed are You Lord our God, king of the universe for making me free…a Jew…in the Diving image. Thank you for making me who I am.
As Americans in a moment such as this, we can do the same. Rejoice for the victory of our troops; have pride in the freedoms and opportunities we have in America; and have faith that our country can continue to improve. On Passover, we celebrate in our freedom and God’s miracles that saves us. As Americans we can do the same: rejoice in what we have without losing our moral sensitivities by enjoying the death of even a hated enemy.
